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Update: Afghanistan-based Islamic State affiliate claims responsibility for yesterday's bombings in Iran


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WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM

Two explosions occurred at Kerman ceremony marking fourth anniversary of killing of top general Qassem Suleimani

 

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Two explosions have killed at least 103 people and injured scores more at a memorial ceremony in Iran marking the fourth anniversary of the US killing of Qassem Suleimani, the head of Iran’s Quds Force and one of the most powerful men in the Middle East.

 

A senior official called the blasts a terrorist attack, without elaborating on who could be behind them. No one has immediately claimed responsibility for what appeared to be the deadliest attack to target Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution.

 

According to IRNA, Iran’s official news agency, the first explosion in the south-central city of Kerman occurred 700 metres (0.4 miles) from Suleimani’s burial place and the second 1km from it.

 

State-run media cited Babak Yektaparast, a spokesperson for the country’s emergency service, as saying 73 people had been killed and 170 wounded. State television later reported that the death toll had climbed to 103.

 

Initially, local officials said it was not known if the explosions were caused by gas canisters, or suicide bombers. Later, officials said the explosions occurred in two bombs that were detonated remotely, and classified the incident as terrorism.

 

The blasts occurred on the roads leading to Golzar Shohada, the Garden of Martyrs cemetery in Kerman. Suleimani’s body is buried there along with more than 1,000 other people regarded as martyrs, and the site has become a place of pilgrimage for supporters of the so-called “axis of resistance” against the US and the west.

 

Suleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in 2020 and was seen as the leader directing Iranian proxy forces in Iraq and Syria.

 

 

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Thread title led me to believe that bomb blasts were part of the ceremony.

 

Edit: I somehow misread the "in Iran" and just read ""At least" 103 killed in twin bomb blasts during ceremony"

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31 minutes ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

OK, place your bets, who's our most likely contenders here? 

 

I think Israel is crazy enough to have done it and Bibi's life depends on forever. I just want to be wrong though.

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  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to Iran: "at least" 103 killed in twin bombings during ceremony marking fourth anniversary of Qassem Suleimani's assassination
  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to Iran: "at least" 103 killed in dual bombings during ceremony marking fourth anniversary of Qassem Suleimani's assassination
On 1/3/2024 at 1:28 PM, mclumber1 said:

My bet is on ISIS.

 

You can collect your winnings now.

 

WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM

Afghan affiliate of IS claims responsibility for blasts in memorial crowd as Tehran tightens security on its eastern bordersMiddle East crisis – live updates

 

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Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on a crowd in southern Iran marking the anniversary of the death of the senior Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Suleimani.

 

At least 84 people died when two blasts ripped through the crowd near Suleimani’s tomb in the city of Kerman, four years after he was killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad. Suleimani had been a staunch enemy of IS, which resents the damage he did to its cause in Iraq and Syria.

 

Early on Thursday Iran had said it was bolstering security along its borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan, in the first tangible sign that it suspected that the attack was the work of an IS affiliate. “We have points on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan that are a priority for blocking,” Iran’s interior minister, Ahmad Vahidi, said.

 

Later in the day, in a statement posted on its affiliate Telegram channels, the Sunni extremist group said two IS members had detonated their explosive belts in the crowd.

 

 

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  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to Update: Afghanistan-based Islamic State affiliate claims responsibility for yesterday's bombings in Iran

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