Date: | (Ashura 1415 AH) |
Location: | Mashhad, Iran |
Fatalities: | 25 or 26 |
Injuries: | At least 70 or over 200 |
Accused: | Ramzi Yousef, Abdul Shakoor, MEK, Al-Haraka al-Islamiya al-Iraniya (Sunni group claiming responsibility) |
A bomb explosion occurred at the shrine of Ali al-Ridha, the eighth Imam of Shia, on 20 June 1994 in a crowded prayer hall in Mashhad, Iran. To maximize the number of casualties, the explosion took place on Ashura, one of the holiest days for Shia muslims,[1] when hundreds of pilgrims had gathered to commemorate the death of their third Imam, Husayn ibn Ali.[2]
The attack left at least 25 dead and at least 70 injured.[1] The bomb was equivalent to 10 pounds of TNT, according to experts.[3] Although a Sunni group claimed responsibility, the Iranian government laid the blame on the People's Mujahedin of Iran, and others have accused a Pakistani militant.
On 20 June, the shrine was crowded with self-flagellating mourners, celebrating Ashura and commemorating the death of Husayn ibn Ali. At 14:26, a bomb exploded in a crowded prayer hall in the women's section of the shrine.[2] The Independent described it as "the first attack on such a holy place" or "the worst terrorist atrocity in Iran since 1981".[1] [3] In protest, people gathered outside the mosque and hospitals.[2]
Damage included the destruction of one wall and the prayer hall's dome, and the breaking of crystal chandeliers.[2]
The Iranian government blamed the Iraqi-backed People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK). According to IRNA, the official Iranian news agency, a caller claimed responsibility for the event in the name of MEK. However, MEK condemned the attack. Ramzi Yousef, a member of al-Qaeda who was responsible for several terrorist attacks worldwide, was also accused of being responsible, supposedly having been hired by MEK.[4] [5] [6] According to an anonymous US official, Yousef built the bomb and MEK agents placed it in the shrine.[7] According to the analysts, he was suspected of having connections with MEK because of his Iraqi background. However, Raymond Tanter, a member of the United States National Security Council under President Ronald Reagan, believes that MEK was not involved, and that a Pakistani militant connected to Yousef was the perpetrator. News, A Pakistani daily newspaper, identified that person to be Abdul Shakoor, a young religious radical living in Lyari in Karachi.[8]
A month after the attack, a Sunni group calling itself Al-Haraka al-Islamiya al-Iraniya claimed responsibility for the attack. Despite this, the Iranian government continued to hold the MEK responsible. According to the National Council of Resistance of Iran, in a trial in November 1999, Interior Minister Abdollah Nouri claimed it was a false flag attack by the Iranian regime to blame MEK.[9]
Strict security measures were applied after this attack, and visitors are now searched before entering the shrine.[10] The event caused further political unrest in Iran.[11]
A 2013 play entitled "the picture of Aziz's event" narrated the life of a woman who was going to visit Imam Reza shrine on the day of the bombing.[12]