Two explosions killed more than 100 people and injured more than 200 during a ceremony in Iran on Wednesday to commemorate supreme commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by a US drone in 2020, Iranian officials said, blaming unspecified “terrorists”.
Iranian state television reported a first and then a second explosion during a crowded anniversary event at the cemetery where Soleimani was buried in the southeastern city of Kerman.
An unnamed official told state news agency IRNA that “two explosive devices placed on the road leading to the Martyrs’ Cemetery in Kerman were detonated remotely by terrorists.”
State television said that at least 103 people were killed and 211 others were injuredmaking the attack one of the deadliest in Iran, which has faced similar incidents in the past by various groups, including Islamic State.
No one has claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s blasts.
The attack occurred during a ceremony marking the death in 2020 of the country’s top commander Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike.
According to the semi-official portal Nournews “several gas cylinders have exploded on the road leading to the cemetery”.
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We will take revenge on the Americans with the help of people who are close to them and in their own homes, Gahani threatened
“The explosions were caused by terrorist attacks,” said a local official in Kerman province
State television showed Red Crescent rescue workers treating injured people at the ceremony, where hundreds of Iranians had gathered to mark the anniversary of Soleimani’s death.
“Our rapid response teams are evacuating the wounded… But there are waves of crowds blocking roads,” said Reza Fallah, head of the Kerman Province Red Crescent.
Iran’s Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei threatened that the perpetrators behind the “terrorist attack” in Kerman “will be punished accordingly”.
He expressed his condolences to the families of those killed in the incident caused by “hired terrorists”.
“The responsible intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies are obliged to quickly and precisely search for all the clues, the perpetrators and the reasons for this crime and hand them over to the judicial authorities in the country,” he stressed.
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Soleimani was considered the most powerful figure in Iran after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneiwrites the BBC.
As commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s overseas operations unit, the Al Quds Force, he was architect of Iranian policy in the region.
Soleimani was responsible for covert missions for the al-Quds Force and providing guidance, funding, weapons, intelligence and logistical support to allied governments and armed groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah.
Former US President Donald Trump, who ordered his assassination in 2020, called Soleimani “the number one terrorist in the entire world”.
2024-01-03 16:06:08
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