The 2017 Tehran attacks were a series of two simultaneous terrorist attacks that were carried out by ISIL terrorists.

Qatar has strongly condemned and denounced an attack on a Shia religious shrine in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz that claimed the lives of 15 and left 40 wounded, a government statement said on Thursday.

Three armed men entered the Shah Cheragh Shrine on Wednesday evening before unleashing a rampage inside.

In a statement, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the Gulf country’s firm stance again violence and terrorism regardless of the motive.

The ministry also expressed its condolences to the families of the victims, as well as the Iranian government and the people of the nation.

One of the attackers is still on the loose, while two have been captured, according to reports. Meanwhile, a news source in Iran thought to be connected to the Supreme National Security Council stated that the attackers were foreigners, reports said.

Late on Wednesday, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the assault, according to a statement published on its Amaq news agency.

It stated that there had been about 20 fatalities and numerous injuries.

The shooting was intended to “attack worshippers,” said Fouad Izadi, an associate professor in the Faculty of World Studies at the University of Tehran, according to reports.

“This is an ISIS trademark – they attack mosques, they attack shrines,” Izadi added.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said the attack in Shiraz would not go unanswered, vowing a regrettable response, state-run Islamic Republic News Agency said.

“Experience shows that Iran’s enemies, after failing to create a split in the nation’s united ranks, take revenge through violence and terror. This evil will definitely not go unanswered, and the security and law enforcement agencies will teach a lesson to those who designed the attack,” Raisi said.

One of the attackers shot a worker at the shrine entrance before his firearm jammed and bystanders chased him, according to Tasnim. The assailant was able to repair his weapon before resuming to shoot inside.

Several women and two children were among the deceased.

António Guterres, secretary general of the United Nations, also condemned the attack.

Iran’s Secretary of High Council for Human Rights Kazem Gharibabadi in a tweet on Thursday said: “Why are the human rights mechanisms silent about the deadly Shiraz terrorist attack?”

Such attacks are uncommon in Iran, however in April, two clergy members were fatally stabbed at the Imam Reza shrine, the most venerated Shia monument in the nation, located in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

The attack on Wednesday comes as protests in Iran continue following the death of Mahsa Amini.

The 22-year-old was visiting Tehran when she was arrested by morality police who deemed that she did not wear the hijab in accordance with government standards. She later died on 16 September in the hospital.

Iran’s police maintain she died of natural causes, her family, however, say she was tortured and killed.