An Iranian woman is standing next to flags featuring portraits of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force, Major General Qasem Soleimani, in a war toys and religious accessory shopping mall in downtown Tehran, on the anniversary of the killing of Qassem Soleimani at Baghdad Airport by the United States, on December 30, 2023. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Two explosions caused by ‘terrorist attacks’ killed more than 70 people and wounded scores at a ceremony in Iran to commemorate top commander Qassem Soleimani who was killed in a 2020 U.S. drone attack, Iranian officials said on Wednesday.
Iranian state television reported a first and then a second explosion during an anniversary event at the cemetery where Soleimani is buried in the southeastern city of Kerman.
“The blasts were caused by terrorist attacks,” state media quoted a local official in the Kerman province as saying. Babak Yektaparast, a spokesperson for Iran’s emergency services, was reported later as saying 73 people had been killed and 170 injured.
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, where hundreds of Iranians had gathered to mark the anniversary of Soleimani’s death. Some Iranian news agencies said the number of wounded people was much higher.
“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.
