Iran Says it Arrested Militants Planning Attacks on Religious Gatherings

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
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Iran Says it Arrested Militants Planning Attacks on Religious Gatherings

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Iran has arrested a group of 10 ISIS militants who were planning attacks on religious gatherings, the Iranian intelligence ministry said on Thursday.

The 10 were captured in possession of explosive equipment, communication devices and weapons, a ministry statement said, adding the arrests took place over the past three days in two locations in western and southern Iran.

The militants injured two Iranian intelligence agents in an exchange of fire before being arrested, the ministry said, without specifying where or when the clash took place.

According to Reuters, the ministry said the 10 were planning to attack religious processions taking place during the Islamic month of Muharram, which started on July 30.



At Least 12 Dead in Indonesia Bus Crash

People inspect the wreckage of a passenger bus after it sped out of control on a downhill road and overturned in Padang Panjang, West Sumatra province, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/M.Sulthan Azzam)
People inspect the wreckage of a passenger bus after it sped out of control on a downhill road and overturned in Padang Panjang, West Sumatra province, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/M.Sulthan Azzam)
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At Least 12 Dead in Indonesia Bus Crash

People inspect the wreckage of a passenger bus after it sped out of control on a downhill road and overturned in Padang Panjang, West Sumatra province, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/M.Sulthan Azzam)
People inspect the wreckage of a passenger bus after it sped out of control on a downhill road and overturned in Padang Panjang, West Sumatra province, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/M.Sulthan Azzam)

A bus carrying 34 passengers sped out of control on a downhill road and overturned in Indonesia’s West Sumatra province on Tuesday, killing at least 12 people and leaving others injured, police said.
The inter-province bus was on its way to Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, from Medan in North Sumatra province when its brakes apparently malfunctioned near a bus terminal in West Sumatra’s Padang city, said Reza Chairul Akbar Sidiq, the director of West Sumatra traffic police.
The Associated Press quoted him as saying that police were still investigating the cause of the accident, but survivors told authorities that the driver lost control of the vehicle in an area with a number of steep hills in Padang after the brakes malfunctioned.
The 12 bodies, including those of two children, were mostly pinned under the overturned bus, Sidiq said. All the victims, including 23 injured people, were taken to two nearby hospitals, he said.
Thirteen of the injured were treated for serious injuries, Sidiq said. The driver was among those in critical condition.
Local television footage showed the mangled bus on its side, surrounded by rescuers from the National Search and Rescue Agency, police and passersby as ambulances evacuated the injured victims and the dead.
Road accidents are common in Indonesia because of poor safety standards and infrastructure.