Iran blasts
At least 100 killed in twin blasts near Iran's top commander Qassem Soleimani's grave
Dubai/IBNS: At least 100 people died in two explosions caused by 'terrorist attacks' that left scores wounded during a ceremony in Iran to commemorate top commander Qassem Soleimani who was killed by a US drone in 2020, reports said on Wednesday.
Iranian state television reported the first and then a second blast during an anniversary event at the cemetery where Soleimani is buried in the southeastern city of Kerman.
An unnamed official told the state news agency IRNA that "Two explosive devices planted along the road leading to Kerman's Martyrs' Cemetery were detonated remotely by terrorists".
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks yet.
Iranian media videos showed dozens of bodies strewn around with some bystanders trying to attend to survivors and others hurrying to leave the blast area.
"A terrible sound was heard there, despite all the security and safety measures. We are still investigating," Reza Fallah, head of the Kerman Red Crescent Society, told state television.
The US assassination of Soleimani in a drone attack at Baghdad airport in 2020 and Tehran's retaliation by attacking two Iraq military bases that house American troops brought both countries close to full-blown conflict then.
Tensions between Iran and Israel, along with its ally the United States, have reached a new high over Israel's war on Iranian-backed Hamas militants in Gaza in retaliation for their Oct 7 rampage through southern Israel.
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