In a tragic incident on Thursday, over 100 people lost their lives and several others were injured in two explosions during a ceremony in Iran. The event was organized to commemorate the fourth death anniversary of General Qassem Soleimani, a senior military commander killed by a US drone in 2020.
The explosions occurred at a cemetery in the southeastern Iranian city of Kerman, where people had gathered to pay respects to Soleimani, who led the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The first explosion took place around 3 pm, causing panic among the crowd. Chaos ensued, and 20 minutes later, a second bomb detonated near the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque, resulting in additional casualties.
In a chilling statement on its Telegram channels, the militant Sunni Muslim group ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks. According to the group, two of its members had detonated explosive belts within the gathered crowd.
The Iranian government reported that the majority of the victims lost their lives in the second bombing, as people tried to escape the chaos from the initial blast. The city of Kerman is located 820 kilometers from Tehran.
This shocking event unfolded just a day after a top Hamas leader, Saleh al-Arouri, was believed to have been killed in an Israeli drone strike in Lebanon, adding to the escalating tensions in the region.
Expressing solidarity with Iran, Bharat’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal conveyed, “We are shocked and saddened by the terrible bombings in Kerman City of Iran. At this difficult time, we express our solidarity with the government and people of Iran.”
The attacks serve as a stark reminder of the ongoing challenges and conflicts in the Middle East, with various geopolitical factors contributing to the volatile situation in the region.
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