At least eight people were killed and 50 injured when a bomb exploded in a mosque in southern Iran yesterday, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

"The death toll is expected to rise above eight because some of the injured people are in critical condition," Fars said, without giving a source.

It said the bomb exploded during an address by a cleric in the Shohada mosque in Shiraz city. No further details were immediately available and there was no indication who might be behind the attack.

Iran has suffered from isolated bombings in recent years, largely in the south. Some 65 men were arrested in February and accused of being behind a bombing that killed members of the elite Revolutionary Guards in a southeastern border province, the ISNA news agency said.

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