New Delhi: In what is being described as a terrorist attack by Iran, at least 103 people were killed and dozens wounded on Wednesday after two bombs went off in quick succession at a gathering to commemorate top general Qasem Soleimani on the anniversary of his killing, AFP reported.
The twin blasts struck near Saheb al-Zaman Mosque in the southern Iranian town of Kerman, where he is buried.
Soleimani’s supporters had gathered to mark the fourth anniversary of his assassination via by a US drone strike on January 3, 2020, just outside Baghdad airport.
The deputy governor of Kerman said the explosions were a ‘terrorist attack’.
🚨 In Kerman, twin blasts have killed 103 and injured 173, as reported by Iranian state media. Additional footage shows the aftermath near Qassem Soleimani’s grave.
Live update https://t.co/c6FdDoNvp0#Iran #QasemSoleimani https://t.co/iGj2M1T9K2 pic.twitter.com/GuIA1V8ZR6
— QuickUpdate (@BigBreakingWire) January 3, 2024
Iran’s Tasnim news agency quoted informed sources as saying that two bags carrying bombs went off at the site.
“The perpetrators of this incident apparently detonated the bombs by remote control,” Tasnim added.
Apart from the big number of casualties, at least 170 people were injured in the bombings, state media said.
Kerman mayor Saeed Tabrizi said the bombs exploded 10 minutes apart.
Soleimani headed Quds Force, foreign operations arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps which oversees military operations across the Middle East.
Soleimani, declared a ‘living martyr’ by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was regarded as a hero by millions for his role in defeating Islamic State jihadist group in Iraq and Syria.
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