Iran broke up an Isis (Islamic State) plan to bomb commemorations marking the Shia religious mourning period of Ashura, state media reported, the latest alleged militant plot to target the country. Alavi said the suspects planned to attack Ashura events in Iran's southern Fars province. Ashura marks the death of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in present-day Iraq in the 7th century. Alavi referred to the suspects as "takfiri terrorists", a term used by Iranian officials to describe militant Sunni Muslim fundamentalists like Isis. Iran increasingly has warned of possible militant assaults targeting the country, which hasn't seen large-scale attacks since the 1980s.

Source: New Zealand Herald October 13, 2016 15:56 UTC