A family member of the slain child accuses Iranian security forces of carrying out the attack in the western city of Izeh
A nine-year-old boy was shot dead in Iran on Wednesday, during a night of violence in which 15 people died, including members of the security forces.
Iranian authorities on Thursday warned that nine weeks of anti-government protests were devolving into armed insurrection.
In some of the worst unrest since the protests began, assailants on motorbikes shot dead seven people, including a woman and two children aged nine and 13, in the western city of Izeh on Wednesday evening, state media said.
“A terrorist group took advantage of a gathering of protesters in front of the central market of the locality to open fire on people and security officers,” the official IRNA news agency reported.