TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A fire broke out on Friday in the compound belonging to the most revered Shiite shrine in Iran but was quickly extinguished, the country’s state-run news agency reported. No one was injured.
The report by IRNA said one of the cleaning machines that was in the yard of the Imam Reza shrine in the northeastern city of Mashhad caught fire. Fire engines quickly arrived at the scene and put it out. IRNA also said the cause of the incident was under investigation.
The shrine, some 900 kilometers (560 miles) northeast of the capital of Tehran is the largest complex housing a tomb in Iran and one of the country’s most-visited sites. It draws about 20 million people a year, mostly Iranians and Shiite pilgrims from neighboring countries such as Iraq and Pakistan.
Earlier this month, an attacker stabbed three clerics at the shrine, killing two of them. The assailant was arrested, along with four suspected collaborators.
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