EBN- Two explosions killed more than 100 people and wounded scores at a ceremony in Iran on Wednesday to commemorate top commander Qassem who was killed by a US drone in 2020.
Iranian state television reported a first and then a second blast during an anniversary event at the cemetery where Qassem Soleimani is buried.
“Two explosive devices planted along the road leading to Kerman’s Martyrs’ Cemetery were detonated remotely by terrorists,” the state-run television further said.
“The explosions are a terrorist attack,” Rahman Jalali, the deputy governor of Kerman province, told the television.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
The blasts stuck near the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque in Kerman, Soleimani’s southern hometown. Supporters gathered to mark the fourth anniversary of his death in a US drone strike just outside Baghdad airport.
Videos aired by Iranian media showed dozens of bodies strewn around. Some bystanders were trying to attend to survivors and others hurrying to leave the blast area.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi condemned the “heinous” twin blasts.
As chief commander of the elite Quds force, Soleimani ran clandestine operations in foreign countries. He was a key figure in Iran’s long-standing campaign to drive US forces out of the Middle East.
