Iran's Health Ministry says scores have been killed in blasts near the grave of Iran's late top commander on the anniversary of his death. Qassem Soleimani was killed in an US drone attack in Iraq in 2020.
Scores of people people were reported to have died after explosions were heard near the grave of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani on Wednesday, the anniversary of his killing, Iran's state television has reported.
State news agency IRNA, which cited the head of Iran's National Medical Emergency Organization, Jafar Miadfar, said 84 people had been killed and 284 injured.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blasts which appear to be the deadliest militant attacks on Iranian soil since the 1979 revolution. Thursday has been declared a day of mourning across the country.
The blasts come amid already heightened tensions over Israel's war with Hamas — a Palestinian militant group and an Iranian ally — in Gaza. Hamas is deemed a terrorist organization by the US, Israel, EU and others.
What we know about the attack
The two explosions, which took place at around 3 p.m. (1130 GMT) and 20 minutes later respectively, reportedly detonated near the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque in Kerman in southern Iran, where Soleimani is buried.
The SNN news agency reported that ambulances headed toward the cemetery, where hundreds had gathered to mark the anniversary of Soleimani's death in a US drone strike at Baghdad Airport in 2020.
Iran's Tasnim news agency cited informed sources as saying there were two bags carrying bombs that seemed to have been set off by remote control.
Rahman Jalali, the deputy governor of Kerman province, told state TV that the blasts were "a terrorist attack," though he did not elaborate on possible perpetrators.
Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said security authorities would react "quickly and forcefully" to the twin bombings.
He said most of the victims had died in the second bombing.
Source: Dw
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