At least 103 people have been killed and another 141 injured in explosions minutes apart targeting a commemoration for a prominent general slain in a US drone strike in 2020.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for what Iranian state media called a “terroristic” attack shortly after the blasts in Kerman, about 820 kilometres southeast of the capital, Tehran.
The blasts struck an event marking the fourth anniversary of the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, who died in a US drone strike in Iraq in January 2020. The explosions occurred near his grave site in Kerman, about 820 kilometres southeast of the capital, Tehran.
The first blast took place 700 meters away from General Qassem Soleimani’s tomb and the second explosion happened one kilometer away from it.
Numerous people were taking part in the fourth martyrdom anniversary of General Soleimani in his city of Kerman when the blasts occurred.
The explosions dispersed mourners from Kerman’s cemetery and ambulances rushed to deliver the injured to hospitals in the city.
Reza Fallah, head of the Kerman province Red Crescent, told IRNA that some 141 injured people have been rushed to hospitals so far.
Fallah also said that a loud explosion was heard, and officials are examining the cause of the blast.
A security official in Kerman also confirmed the explosion, noting that it is not yet clear whether the explosion was caused by a gas cylinder or a terrorist attack.
