Iran: At least 103 people killed at ceremony honoring slain general
Newsy
At least 141 people were also wounded as explosions struck an event marking the fourth anniversary of the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Explosions at an event honoring a prominent Iranian general slain in a U.S. airstrike in 2020 have killed at least 103 people and wounded over 141 others, state-run media in Iran reported Wednesday.
A senior official called the blasts a “terroristic" attack, without elaborating on who could be behind them amid wider tensions in the Mideast over Israel's ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. No group immediately claimed responsibility.
Iranian state television quoted Babak Yektaparast, a spokesman for the country’s emergency services, for the casualty figure.
The blasts struck an event marking the the fourth anniversary of the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's elite Quds Force. who died in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq in January 2020. The explosions occurred near his grave site in Kerman, about 510 miles southeast of the capital, Tehran.
Authorities said some people were injured while fleeing afterward. Footage suggested that the second blast occurred some 15 minutes after the first. A delayed second explosion is often used by militants to target emergency personnel responding to the scene and inflict more casualties.
