Behbahan Prosecutor: Ashura Shooting Incident is Neither 'Tribal' nor 'Terrorist'

The prosecutor of Behbahan stated that the shooting incident during the Ashura ceremony in the city was neither 'tribal' nor 'terrorist', but due to the 'full readiness' of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the police to potentially confront ISIS, the shooters were apprehended 'in less than 15 minutes'. According to the official news agency Mizan, on Sunday, November 3, Fazel Mohammadpour, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Behbahan, commented on the shooting incident that occurred at 2 AM on Saturday (Ashura), where a shooter fired at mourners with a 'hunting rifle', injuring seven people who were taken to the hospital. Mr. Mohammadpour stated that three of the injured had been discharged from the hospital. This statement comes after Fars news agency reported that during the Ashura ceremony in Behbahan, two motorcyclists armed with 'Kalashnikovs' shot at the mourners. However, the commander of the police in Khuzestan denied that any shooting occurred during the mourning ceremony, asserting that 'no incident took place in the mourning ceremonies of this province'. The prosecutor emphasized that the shooting incident was neither 'tribal' nor 'terrorist' and had 'no connection' to a shooting incident in Dezful, although he did not provide an explanation for the cause of the incident. Mr. Mohammadpour also mentioned that the police and IRGC were 'fully prepared' due to a recent shooting incident in Dezful and concerns regarding ISIS, and they identified and arrested six individuals involved in the incident 'in less than 15 minutes'. He also reported that during a counter-shooting from the police, one of the assailants was 'shot' and 'several others' fled. This local official added that 'despite the shooting and previous concerns that ISIS might come, these factors had no impact on the mourning process, which continued'. The prosecutor's statements come as, according to ISNA news agency, Hossein Malekkhodaei, the governor of the city, announced that the incident was due to 'ethnic disputes' and both sides of the conflict had been arrested. The governor rejected the characterization of the incident as 'terrorist', describing it as a 'clash' between 'two mourning groups'. Simultaneously, Tasnim news agency reported that Rahman Mousavi, the deputy commander of police in Khuzestan, stated that one of the individuals involved in the shooting was killed during a 'chase' by police. On the evening of October 24, two people were killed and two others injured in a shooting at a mourning group in Safiabad, Dezful. Ahmad Ghahramani, the prosecutor of Dezful, referred to this incident as a 'security' incident, and Sadegh Abouhalal, the head of the judiciary in that city, stated that the perpetrators of this shooting had connections with 'foreign enemies'. A few days after this incident, another citizen was shot dead in the village of Islamabad, Dezful, but it remains unclear whether there is a connection between the two events. Meanwhile, IRNA reported on Friday that the Friday prayer leader of Dezful called on the judiciary to execute 'death sentences' for the 'agents of insecurity' in this region.