Tehran, Jan 3 (EFE).- Dozens of people were killed and wounded in Iran on Wednesday after two explosions struck near a cemetery where thousands were commemorating the death anniversary of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
Emergency service sources in the central city of Kerman quoted by Iran’s official media said the “terrorist attack” had killed at least 103 people and injured more than 140.
Medical services have warned the death toll was likely to rise, given the number of critically injured who were being brought to hospitals in the city.
Thousands of people had gathered to mark the fourth anniversary of the death of Soleimani, who was killed in 2020 in a US drone attack in Iraq.
The official IRNA news agency reported that the first explosion took place approximately 700 meters from Soleimani’s tomb, while the second was 1 kilometer away.
To deal with the massive number of casualties, authorities in Kerman have declared a state of emergency in hospitals, according to the Tasnim news agency.
Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that the culprits of the attack would “soon” be met with a “crushing response” and that the bomb attacks are “the continuation of several plans to kill innocent civilians” at public ceremonies throughout the country, “many of which were prevented by the security services”.
The head of the Judiciary and former Intelligence Minister, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, blamed the attacks on the United States and Israel and vowed that the “perpetrators and those responsible for the attack will soon be apprehended and brought to justice”. EFE
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