Security forces in Iran allegedly shot an eight-year-old girl in the head and wounded another girl.

Agents from the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic of Iran allegedly opened fire without warning on a moving Peugeot 405 in the village of Aspich in Sistan and Baluchestan province on 23rd October.

Inside the vehicle on their way to school were ethnic Balochs Mona Naghib, aged eight, and her sister, Maryam (age unclear).

Mona was hit in the head and died instantly, while another girl was reportedly wounded.

It is not clear if the wounded girl is Maryam and her current condition is unclear.

Persian-language, anti-regime media reported that the girls’ father, Sergeant Murad Naqib, was summoned by intelligence agents and detained for several hours.

According to an anonymous source, they reportedly threatened to arrest and file a case against him if he spoke to media about his daughter’s death.

Balochs form an estimated two per cent of the general population of Iran and, according to Amnesty International, face discrimination “in law and practice”.

272 people are believed to have died in the ongoing protests across Iran that began on 16th September as a reaction to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

The young Kurdish woman was arrested and allegedly beaten by morality police for allegedly violating Iran’s mandatory hijab law while visiting Tehran from Saqqez.