A SUSPECTED “terrorist attack” has killed at least 70 people and wounded dozens as two explosions ripped through at a memorial parade for an Iranian general, state media claimed.
The blasts were said to be heard in quick succession near the grave of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani on Wednesday, the anniversary of his 2020 killing in a US drone strike in Iraq.
At least 20 people were killed at a memorial parade in Iran, reports claim
GettyIranian general Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike in 2020 in Iraq[/caption]
AFPDozens of people were gathered for the memorial ceremony in honour of the late general[/caption]
The ceremony was taking place in the southeastern Iranian city of Kerman.
“The blasts were caused by terrorist attacks,” state media quoted a local official in Kerman as saying.
“The incident is a terrorist attack,” Rahman Jalali, the deputy governor of Kerman province where Soleimani is buried, told the broadcaster.
Babak Yektaparast, a spokesperson for Iran’s emergency services, was reported later as saying 73 people had been killed and 170 injured.
“Huge explosion heard near Saheb al-Zaman Mosque” where the storied head of foreign operations of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards is buried in Kerman in southern Iran, the television said in a first report.
“A second explosion was heard near Saheb al-Zaman Mosque,” it added shortly afterwards.
The semi-official Nournews said “several gas canisters exploded on the road leading to the cemetery”.
A local official was quoted by Iranian state media saying: “It is not yet clear whether the explosions were caused by gas cylinders or a terrorist attack”.
State TV showed Red Crescent rescuers attending to wounded people at the ceremony, which gathered hundreds of attendees.
Some Iranian news agencies said the number of wounded people was much higher.
Some Iranian news agencies said at least 50 people were wounded and rushed to local hospitals.
A “large number of ambulances” have arrived at the scene, Tasnim News reports.
“Our rapid response teams are evacuating the injured… But there are waves of crowds blocking roads,” Reza Fallah, head of the Kerman province Red Crescent told state TV.
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