An attack on a police station in Iran has killed 19 as protests surrounding the death of Mahsa Amini continue to shake the country.
The attack took place in the city of Zahedan. Four members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard were among the dead, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday.
The dead Guard members were identified as Hamidreza Hashemi, a Revolutionary Guard colonel; Mohammad Amin Azarshokr, a member of the Guard; Saeed Borhan Rigi, a Basiji or IRG volunteer; and Mohamad Amin Arefi, also a Basiji.
The head of the Guards Intelligence Branch, Seyyed Ali Mousavi, was shot dead during the attack, the Washington Post reported.
It is unclear whether the attack was related to the Amini protests. The 22-year-old Iranian woman died in police custody after being arrested by the country’s “morality police” for not wearing a veil in public. Lawyers and her family claim she died as a result of torture.
A protester kicks back tear gas at riot police during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini September 19, AP
General Hossein Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guard, promised revenge for the dead.
“We consider revenge for the blood of the IRGC and Basiji martyrs and people who were victims of the Black Friday crime in Zahedan to be on our agenda,” he told IRNA.
On Saturday, riots and protests continued in downtown Tehran as people chanted “Death to the Dictator.” Witnesses report that tear gas was fired into the crowd.