ISIS Claims Responsibility for Deadly Bombing in Iran - Latest Updates and Reactions

Friday, 01/05/2024 05:42 IWST

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The ISIS group claimed responsibility for the bombing that occurred in Iran, Wednesday. Previously the attack killed at least 87 people, a figure revised by the Tehran government from the previous 103.

In a statement on Telegram, citing AFP Friday (5/1/2024), ISIS said two of its members activated explosive vests among thousands of people who arrived in Kerman, southeastern Iran. It is known that residents are gathering to commemorate the death of General Qassem Solemaini, who was killed by the United States (US) attack in Iraq in 2020.

The US itself agrees with this claim. In Washington, White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Uncle Sam could not doubt ISIS’s claims.

“They are responsible for Wednesday’s attack,” he wrote Reuters load it.

“This does look like a terrorist attack, as ISIS has done in the past, and that’s our assumption at this time,” another senior Biden administration official added, citing AFP again.

Previously, reported IRNA, Iranian investigators said two bombs exploded in Kreman. Both appear to have been carried out by suicide bombers.

Soleiman himself is the Iranian military leader responsible for the Revolutionary Guard’s overseas operations. ISIS, a Sunni extremist group, has reportedly carried out frequent attacks in Iran, where the majority of the population is Shiite.

Iran is said to have experienced deadly attacks in the past carried out by other militant groups. Assassinations of nuclear officials and scientists also occurred, but were believed to be carried out by Israel’s “arch-enemy”.

Meanwhile, Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the government would strengthen security on its porous borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan. He said authorities had identified “priority points to block along the border” between the two countries, which has been a key access point for militant groups, drug smugglers and irregular migrants.

Iran’s bombs have added to regional tensions amid the war in Gaza, Palestine. This happened a day after a drone attack carried out by Israel killed a top Hamas official in Lebanon.

Deputy Chief of Staff for Political Affairs of President Ebrahim Raisi, Mohammad Jamshidi, accused Israel and the US of being responsible for the bomb in Iran on the social media platform X. “Responsibility for this crime lies with the US and the Zionist regime (Israel), and terrorism is just a tool ,” the caption read.

The attack prompted even the head of state to criticize. Including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Xi Jinping’s government in China.

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