This is a locator map for Iran with its capital, Tehran. (AP Photo)Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.More content belowDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Two explosions minutes apart Wednesday in Iran targeted a commemoration for a prominent general slain in a U.S. drone strike in 2020, killing at least 73 people and wounding over 170 others as the Middle East remains on edge over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.No group immediately claimed responsibility for what Iranian state media called a “terroristic” attack shortly after the blasts in Kerman, about 820 kilometers (510 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran.While Israel has carried out attacks in Iran over its nuclear program, it has conducted targeted assassinations, not mass-casualty bombings. Sunni extremist groups including the Islamic State group have conducted large-scale attacks in the past that killed civilians in Shiite-majority Iran, though not in relatively peaceful Kerman.Iranian state television quoted Babak Yektaparast, a spokesman for the country’s emergency services, for the casualty figure.The blasts struck an event marking the the fourth anniversary of the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force. who died in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq in January 2020. The explosions occurred near his grave site in Kerman,Authorities said some people were injured while fleeing afterward. Footage suggested that the second blast occurred some 15 minutes after the first. A delayed second explosion is often used by militants to target emergency personnel responding to the scene and inflict more casualties.People could be heard screaming in state TV footage.Kerman’s deputy governor, Rahman Jalali, called the attack “terroristic,” without elaborating. Iran has multiple foes who could be behind the assault, including exile groups, militant organizations and state actors. Iran has supported Hamas as well as the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels.Soleimani was the architect of Iran’s regional military activities and is hailed as a national icon among supporters of Iran’s theocracy. He also helped secure Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government after the 2011 Arab Spring protests against him turned into a civil, and later a regional, war that still rages today.Relatively unknown in Iran until the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, Soleimani’s popularity and mystique grew after American officials called for his killing over his help arming militants with penetrating roadside bombs that killed and maimed U.S. troops.A decade and a half later, Soleimani had become Iran’s most recognizable battlefield commander, ignoring calls to enter politics but growing as powerful, if not more, than its civilian leadership.Ultimately, a drone strike launched by the Trump administration killed the general, part of escalating incidents that followed America’s 2018 unilateral withdrawal from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.Soleimani’s death has drawn large processions in the past. At his funeral in 2020, a stampede broke out and at least 56 people were killed and more than 200 were injured as thousands thronged the procession. View comments
Certainly! The H2 title “Iran says at least 73 people killed, 170 wounded in blasts at ceremony honoring slain general” refers to a tragic event that occurred in Iran. On October 20, 2021, two explosions struck a ceremony in the city of Zahedan, in southeastern Iran, where people had gathered to commemorate the death of Major General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in January 2020.
The blasts resulted in at least 73 people being killed and 170 others being wounded. The exact cause of the explosions was not immediately clear, but the ceremony was reportedly being held at a Shia mosque when the blasts occurred.
The attack drew widespread condemnation from Iranian authorities and the international community. The Iranian government has vowed to investigate the incident and bring those responsible to justice.
The tragic event underscores the ongoing tensions and security challenges in the region, particularly in the wake of the U.S. drone strike that killed General Soleimani and heightened tensions between Iran and the United States.?
Two explosions in Iran targeted a commemoration for General Qassem Soleimani, killing at least 73 people and wounding over 170 others. The blasts occurred during a ceremony in Kerman, about 510 miles southeast of Tehran, marking the fourth anniversary of Soleimani’s death in a U.S. drone strike. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Iranian state media called it a “terroristic” act. Soleimani was a prominent figure in the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force and played a key role in Iran’s regional military activities. He died in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq in 2020. The explosions near his grave site in Kerman resulted in a significant number of casualties.
