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IS Claims Responsibility for Blasts Near Iran General's Grave That Killed 100

Twin blasts occurred near the burial site of slain military commander Qasem Soleimani in Iran's Kerman city.

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At least 103 people were killed and 141 injured in twin blasts near the burial site of slain Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani in the country's Kerman city on Wednesday, 3 January.

The Islamic State (IS) on Thursday, 4 December, claimed responsibility for the attack, Reuters reported.

Details: The first blast rocked the site around 700 metres away from Soleimani’s grave while the second one took place around a kilometre away, according to the IRNA news agency.

  • Purported visuals circulating on social media showed dozens of people running in panic after the blasts.

What did officials say? While officials initially suspected that the blasts were caused by a gas explosion, they later attributed them to a "terrorist attack".

  • "Two explosive devices planted along the road leading to Kerman's Martyrs' Cemetery were detonated remotely by terrorists," an official told IRNA.

  • Iran's Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that the first explosion occurred at around 3:00 PM local time. However, the majority of casualties resulted from the second explosion as several people had assembled to assist in the aftermath of the first blast.

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Who was Qasem Soleimani? Soleimani was killed in an airstrike ordered by former United States President Donald Trump at the Baghdad Airport in January 2020.

  • One of Iran's most influential officials, Soleimani served as the chief of the country's elite Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force – which has been deemed as a terrorist organisation by the US.

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