ISIS claims responsibility for Iran twin blasts that killed over 100

Islamic State claimed responsibility Thursday for two explosions that led to the death of over 100 people and wounded several others at a ceremony in Iran. The group posted a statement on its affiliate Telegram channels.

People had gathered at a cemetery to mark the fourth death anniversary of senior military commander General Qassem Soleimani who was killed by a US drone in 2020. He was in charge of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

In a statement, the militant Sunni Muslim group said two IS members had detonated their explosive belts in the crowd which had gathered at the cemetery in the southeastern Iranian city of Kerman on Wednesday for the anniversary of Soleimani’s death.

The first explosion took place around 3 pm in Kerman, located 820 kilometres from Tehran. As the crowd of people sought to escape, another bomb detonated 20 minutes later near the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque. The Iranian government stated that most of the victims died in the second bombing, amid chaos from the first blast.

The attacks in Iran came a day after a top Hamas leader, Saleh al-Arouri, was believed to have been killed in an Israeli drone strike in Lebanon.

Earlier Thursday, India extended its solidarity towards Iran.

Taking to X, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “We are shocked and saddened on the terrible bombings in the Kerman City of Iran. At this difficult time, we express our solidarity with the government and people of Iran.”

– With inputs from Reuters

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