UPDATE 2-Bomb explodes in Iranian mosque, 8 killed

(Adds quotes, increases number wounded)

By Parisa Hafezi

TEHRAN, April 12 (Reuters) - A bomb exploded in a mosque in southern Iran on Saturday, killing at least eight people and wounding more than 60 others, Iranian media reported.

Ambulances rushed to the scene of the blast in a crowded district in the city of Shiraz, state television said.

"The death toll has reached eight and about 66 injured," the semi-official Fars news agency said, quoting a police official, identified only as General Zamani.

The agency, quoting an unnamed official, said the death toll was expected to rise because some of the wounded were in a critical condition.

The official IRNA news agency said the bomb exploded during an address by a cleric in the Shohada mosque in Shiraz.

Local officials were not immediately available for comment on the blast.

No one has claimed the responsibility for the blast but the deputy governor of the province Mohammad Reza Hadaegh told state television the cause of the blast was under investigation.