The explosions took place on a route leading to the cemetery in the southeastern city of Kerman where Qassem Soleimani, the former head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, was laid to rest, according to state media.
The cause of the explosions remains unknown. Some media reports suggested that they were caused by gas canisters.
Iran’s National Medical Services Organization had earlier put the death toll at 73 and 170 others were injured.
The incident happened as tens of thousands of people converged in Soleimani’s hometown Kerman to commemorate the fourth anniversary of his assassination.
Soleimani was killed on Jan 3, 2020, in a US drone strike outside Baghdad Airport in Iraq.
Iran’s emergency services put all hospitals and health care centers on alert to attend to the injured.
Officials in Tehran have not commented on the incident yet.
According to Anadolu sources, the venue of the ceremony in Kerman has been vacated by security forces and people have been asked to return home.
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Two explosions caused by “terrorist attacks” killed more than 70 people and wounded scores at a ceremony in Iran to commemorate top commander Qassem Soleimani who was killed in a 2020 US drone attack, Iranian officials said on Wednesday, AzVision.az reports citing Reuters.
Iranian state television reported a first and then a second explosion during an anniversary event at the cemetery where Soleimani is buried in the southeastern city of Kerman.
“The blasts were caused by terrorist attacks,” state media quoted a local official in the Kerman province as saying. Babak Yektaparast, a spokesperson for Iran’s emergency services, was reported later as saying 73 people had been killed and 170 injured.
The semi-official Nournews had said earlier that “several gas canisters exploded on the road leading to the cemetery.”
State TV showed Red Crescent rescuers attending to wounded people at the ceremony, where hundreds of Iranians had gathered to mark the anniversary of Soleimani’s death. Some Iranian news agencies said the number of wounded people was much higher.
“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.
AzVision.az
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