State TV in Tehran is reporting that Iran’s Foreign Ministry has summoned Nigeria’s charge d’affaires to protest the killing of Shi’ite Muslims in northern Nigeria.
The move comes after reports that Nigerian soldiers raided the home of Ibraheem Zakzaky, the leader of the Shi’ite Islamic Movement in Nigeria during the weekend in Zaria, a town in northern Nigeria.
The movement says government soldiers killed hundreds of Shi’ite Muslims after members of their group threw stones at the convoy of Nigeria’s army chief.
Other reports put the number of dead at about 20.
The governor of Nigeria’s Kaduna state, Nasir el-Rufai, told AP that Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenah Ibrahim, are alive and being held in military custody.
Earlier, the movement had reported that Zakzak’s wife was among the dead, along with two of their sons and Zakzaky’s deputy.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP
