While Small in Number, Tajik Fighters an Asset for Islamic State-Khorasan

FILE - Revolutionary Guard members stand over the flag-draped coffins of victims a bomb explosion during their funeral ceremony in the city of Kerman, Iran, Jan. 5, 2024. The Iranian government linked the attack to ethnic-Tajik fighters of the Islamic State Khorasan Province. FILE - People gather at the scene of explosions during a ceremony held to mark the death of late Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, in Kerman, Iran, Jan. 3, 2024. (West Asia News Agency via Reuters)

The Iranian government has traced this month's twin suicide bombings in Kerman city to ethnic-Tajik fighters of the Islamic State Khorasan Province who, experts say, are "fairly small" in number but play "an important part" in the group's military activities.