Sunni-Muslim scholar shot dead in southeastern Iran

By Nazanin Hansu Razavi and Ahmet Dursun

ZAHEDAN, Iran

A Sunni-Muslim scholar was shot dead by unidentified attackers in Iran’s southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province Thursday, according to local media reports.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that Molavi Abdushakour Kord Tarshabi, a well-known scholar and Muslim activist, had been killed by an “armed gang”.

According to Mohamed Ahmed Bolag, deputy governor of the province’s Khash district, the local authorities have launched an investigation with a view to finding the perpetrators.

An estimated 90 percent of Iran’s 80-million-strong population is Shia Muslim. The remaining 10 percent -- including Turkmen, Kurds and Balochis -- is comprised mainly of Sunni Muslims.