<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Women have been at the forefront of escalating protests in Iran sparked by the death in custody of a woman detained for breaking hijab laws.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Crowds cheered when women burned their hijabs on a bonfire in Sari on Tuesday, as the unrest continued for a fifth night and spread to more cities.</div><div><br></div><div>Activists said two male protesters were shot dead by security forces in Urmia and Piranshahr, in the north-west.</div><div><br></div><div>A police assistant was also reportedly killed in Shiraz, in the south.</div><div><br></div><div>At least six people are now believed to have been killed since protests against the hijab laws and the morality police erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini.</div><div><br></div><div>The 22-year-old Kurdish woman from the north-western city of Saqez died in hospital on Friday, after spending three days in a coma.</div><div><br></div><div>She was with her brother in Tehran when she was arrested by morality police, who accused her of breaking the law requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf, and their arms and legs with loose clothing. She fell into the coma shortly after collapsing at a detention centre.</div><div><br></div><div>There were reports that police beat Ms Amini's head with a baton and banged her head against one of their vehicles, Acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada al-Nashif said.</div><div><br></div><div>The police have denied that she was mistreated and said she suffered "sudden heart failure". But her family has said she was fit and healthy. - BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>