Iran says at least 103 killed in ‘terror’ blasts near grave of slain general Soleimani
At least 141 injured in explosions on 4th anniversary of killing of senior Revolutionary Guard terror chief; outlets say blasts caused by suicide bombers or remote detonation
At least 103 people were said to have been killed on Wednesday in two explosions near the grave of General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force who was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq exactly four years ago, in what a local Iranian official claimed was a “terror attack.”
Babak Yektaparast, a spokesperson for Iran’s emergency services, was initially reported as saying 73 people had been killed and 170 injured. State television said later that at least 103 people had been killed and 141 injured. Iran’s state television announced that the government had declared a national day of mourning.
Iran has multiple foes who could be behind the assault, including exile groups, armed organizations and state actors. While Israel has carried out attacks in Iran over its nuclear program, it has conducted targeted assassinations, not mass casualty bombings. Sunni extremist groups, including the Islamic State group, have conducted large-scale attacks in the past that killed civilians in Shiite-majority Iran, though not in relatively peaceful Kerman.
Iran also has seen mass protests in recent years, including those over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in 2022. The country also has been targeted by exile groups in attacks dating back to the turmoil surrounding its 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iranian state television said the blasts occurred in the central city of Kerman during a ceremony to mark the fourth anniversary of the death of the Revolutionary Guard Corps’ terror chief Soleimani.
The live broadcast had shown thousands of mourners participating in the commemoration.
“The blasts were caused by terrorist attacks,” Rahman Jalali, the deputy governor of Kerman province where Soleimani is buried, told state television.
The semi-official Nournews had said earlier that “several gas canisters exploded on the road leading to the cemetery.”
State TV showed Red Crescent rescuers attending to wounded people at the ceremony.
“Our rapid response teams are evacuating the injured… But there are waves of crowds blocking roads,” Reza Fallah, head of the Kerman province Red Crescent told state TV.
Sources on the ground told local media that the explosions came from suicide bombers in two separate locations, but that was not confirmed by an official statement.
Other witnesses told the Tasnim news site that the explosions were caused by explosive-laden suitcases, detonated by remote control.
Iranian media denied reports on social media that a senior IRGC commander was also killed in the explosions.
Soleimani was the architect of Iran’s regional terror activities and is hailed as a national icon among supporters of Iran’s theocracy.
Soleimani, who led the elite Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, was credited with helping arm, train and lead armed groups across the region, including the Shiite militias in Iraq, fighters in Syria and Yemen, the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group, and Palestinian terror groups in the West Bank and Gaza.
The US held him responsible for the deaths of many of its soldiers in Iraq.
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