Blasts kill nearly 100 at slain Iranian commander Soleimani's memorial

AFP

Two explosions killed nearly 100 people and wounded scores at a ceremony in Iran on Wednesday to commemorate commander Qassem Soleimani who was killed by a US drone in 2020, Iranian officials said, blaming unspecified "terrorists".

Iranian state television reported a first and then a second blast after 20 minutes during a crowded fourth-anniversary event at the cemetery where Soleimani is buried in the southeastern city of Kerman.

No one claimed responsibility for the blasts. A senior Biden administration official said in Washington that the blasts appeared to represent "a terrorist attack" of the type carried out in the past by IS militants.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi condemned the "heinous and inhumane crime", and Iran's top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei vowed revenge for the bloody twin bombings.

Several countries, including Russia and Turkey, condemned the attacks, and the UN Secretary-General called for those responsible to be held accountable.

Iranian Health Minister Bahram Eynollahi told state TV the death toll was 95, down from 103, and said 211 others were injured, making it the deadliest attack in the history of the Islamic Republic, which has faced similar incidents in the past from various groups.

Iran has in the past blamed Israel for attacks on individual people or places within its borders - claims which Israel has neither confirmed nor denied - but there was no indication of any involvement of a foreign state in the cemetery explosions.

The US has seen no indication Israel was behind the blasts, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said.

An unnamed official told state news agency IRNA that "two explosive devices planted along the road leading to Kerman's Martyrs' Cemetery were detonated remotely by terrorists".

Iranian state media said the cemetery had been evacuated and closed until further notice. The government announced that Thursday would be a day of mourning.

More from International News

  • Russia and Ukraine complete largest prisoner swap

    Russia and Ukraine completed the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each on Sunday, the Russian Defence Ministry and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, in the largest such swap since the war began three years ago.

  • North Korea detains officials over warship accident

    North Korea has detained shipyard officials responsible for a recent major accident during the launch of a new warship, state media said on Sunday.

  • At least 13 killed in Russian air attack on Ukraine

    Russian forces launched a barrage of 367 drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities overnight, including the capital Kyiv, in the largest aerial attack of the war so far, killing 13 people and injuring dozens more, officials said.

  • Russia, Ukraine swap 307 soldiers on second day of POW exchange

    Russia and Ukraine each exchanged 307 of their service personnel on Saturday on the second day of a prisoner exchange that, when completed, is set to be the largest such swap in the three-year war between the two countries. U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested the prisoner swap - which should see 1,000 prisoners released on each side over three days - could herald a new phase in stop-start efforts to negotiate a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv. Saturday's swap was announced by Russia's defence ministry, and separately by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a post on social

  • Police probe arson attack in France power outage

    French police were investigating a possible arson attack as being the main cause for a power outage which hit the Alpes-Maritimes region in southern France on Saturday, including Cannes which is hosting its world-famous annual film festival.

News