Iran-backed Shia group kills two police officers in Nigeria

An Iran-backed Shia group killed two police officers in Abuja, the capital, on Sunday and injured three others who are unconscious and hospitalized due to their injuries. Abuja police held the 'Islamic Movement of Nigeria' led by Ibrahim Zakzaky (also known as Sheikh Zakzaky), a Shia cleric supported by the Islamic Republic, responsible for this attack. According to the police statement, this illegal group's attack on the police station, which involved the use of machetes, knives, and homemade explosives, also set three police vehicles on fire. The police statement adds that the attackers have been arrested, the situation has returned to normal, and those responsible for the attack will be punished. The Islamic Movement of Nigeria, led by Zakzaky, has close ties with the Iranian government and has been declared illegal following clashes with Nigeria's secular government since 2019. Zakzaky was released in the summer of 2021 after serving five years in prison along with his wife. He has repeatedly called for an Islamic revolution in Nigeria similar to the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Nigeria, with an approximate population of 220 million, is the most populous country in Africa. Muslims make up about half of the country's population, and Shias are in the minority. An Iranian official, in a phone conversation with Sheikh Zakzaky, promised support to the Shia in Nigeria. In response to the killing of Shia in Nigeria, a cleric called for the formation of a truth-finding group. A Nigerian Shia group claims that at least 20 of its members were killed in recent protests.