Iran Hangs 3 for Mosque Blast

Attack scatters meeting of extremist Shiite organization

(NEWSER) - A bomb killed nine and wounded more than 100 in an Iranian mosque today, scattering members of an extremist Shiite group, the BBC reports. Police and militia have cordoned off the area while medics attend to victims and local media call for blood donations. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. More»

(NEWSER) - Gunmen raised political tensions in Iran today by shooting up a campaign office in Zahedan, the town where a mosque bombing left 23 dead yesterday, the Los Angeles Times reports. Tehran officials accused Washington of supporting the gunmen, who injured up to three people in the office of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. A Sunni militant group, meanwhile, claimed responsibility for the mosque attack. More»

(NEWSER) - Iran executed up to 30 people in the past month, mostly in public hangings, in a nationwide crackdown on murderers, sex offenders, drug traffickers, and other threats to "social security," reports the Observer. Human rights advocates say the sweep, also advertised as countering an alleged surge in US-backed plots to subvert the government, is intended to silence political activists. More»

But Shahin Najafi denies 'O Naqi' is insulting to Islam

(NEWSER) - Most rappers hope their songs will be a hit—not make them the target of one. That's the situation facing Shahin Najafi, an Iranian rapper living in Germany who's accused of having "grossly insulted" an important Shi'ite Muslim religious figure in one of his songs. He now has a $100,000 bounty hanging over his head, compliments of an Islamist website that says the rapper spoke of Ali al-Hadi al-Naqi, one of the 12 imams, irreverently in the song, Reuters reports, citing Iranian media. More»

Bangkok devices match those used in India, Georgia attacks

(NEWSER) - The suspected Iranian hit squad busted in Bangkok last week made cheap portable radios into bombs that they intended to use against Israeli targets, authorities say. Experts say the bombs are nearly identical to those attached to vehicles in attacks in India and the republic of Georgia , ABC reports. After an explosion at a house in Bangkok, one of the three Iranians now in custody in Thailand hurled a radio bomb at police in an attempt to evade arrest, but it bounced back and shredded both his legs . Other bombs were found in the house. More»