Gunmen have shot dead a famous Iranian eulogist and a young seminary student in the country.

Known in Iran as eulogist or ‘maddah’, Habil Afaq Azar was killed in the northwestern city of Tabriz in East Azarbaijan Province on Thursday.

According the preliminary investigation, Afaq Azar was killed by a bullet near a square in Tabriz but his body was found in another location on Thursday, Fars news agency reported.

Mahmoud Hosseini, the director general of the Islamic Advertisement Organization of East Azarbaijan, said Afaq Azar, 45, was one of the best eulogists of Tabriz who had made several trips to Turkey and Azerbaijan to deliver eulogies. He said a special team of senior police officers and judicial officials are investigating the crime.

In another incident, unknown individuals shot and killed a 19-year-old seminary student identified as Salaheddin Salahi in the city of Saqqez in the central  province of Kurdestan.

Deputy governor of Kurdestan for political, security and social affairs Mehdi Ramezani told IRNA on Friday that Salahi was killed by a bullet early on Thursday in front of his home. Ramezani said investigations are underway to arrest the perpetrators.