A commander of a pro-government paramilitary force has been killed at the protests in Tehran since the death of Mahsa Amini.

The man headed a local branch of Basij, a paramilitary wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responsible for cracking down on dissent, and was stabbed to death in the northeastern city of Mashhad on Wednesday.

Another member of Basij, Abdolhossein Mojaddami, was shot dead by “rioters and gangs”, according to local news agencies.

Protests began after the death of Ms Amini, 22, who was arrested in Tehran on Friday by the morality police who said that she was breaking strict dress codes for women. She died three days later.

Police have said that she had a heart attack and was taken to hospital, but her father has said that she had no health problems and blame the police for her death.

It has been reported that she was hit with batons and suffered a brain injury.

At protests across the country – and at Iranian consulates abroad – women burned their hijabs and cut off their hair. On Thursday police stations and vehicles were set alight during protests.

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Several other people, including a 16-year-old boy and a ‘police assistant’, have also been killed since the protests began.

The Iranian government says it will investigate Ms Amini’s death.

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