Two bombs at gathering in Iran leave 103 dead

188 others injured; people had gathered to commemorate prominent Iranian general

Two bombs exploded minutes apart on Wednesday at a commemoration for a prominent Iranian general slain in a US drone strike in 2020, officials in Iran said, killing at least 103 people and wounding at least 188 as the Middle East remains on edge over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for what appeared to be the deadliest militant attack to target Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution. The blasts shook the city of Kerman, about 820 kilometers (510 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran, and sent shrapnel hurtling into a screaming crowd fleeing the first explosion.

The gathering marked the fourth anniversary of the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, in a US drone strike in Iraq in January 2020. The explosions occurred near his grave site as long lines of people gathered for the event.

Iranian state television and officials described the attacks as bombings, without immediately giving clear details of what happened. Ahmad Vahidi, the interior minister, told state television that the first bomb detonated around 3 p.m., with the other going off some 20 minutes later.

He said the second blast killed and wounded the most people. A delayed second explosion is often used by militants to target emergency personnel responding to the scene and inflict more casualties.

Iranian state TV and state-run IRNA news agency quoted emergency officials for the casualty figures, which rose rapidly in the hours after the explosions.

Iran has multiple foes who could be behind the assault, including exile groups, militant organisations and state actors.

While Israel has carried out attacks in Iran over its nuclear programme, it has conducted targeted assassinations, not mass casualty bombings. 

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