Iran says 103 killed in twin blasts near late general Qasem Soleimani's grave At least 103 were killed and more than 140 were injured ...

 

Iran says 103 killed in twin blasts near late general Qasem Soleimani's grave

At least 103 were killed and more than 140 were injured in Iran on Wednesday (Jan 3) in twin blasts that took place in quick succession near the grave of late general Qasem Soleimani, state television reported. The death toll earlier was 20, which increased to 103. 

"The number of people killed rose to 103 following the death of people injured during the terrorist explosions," the official IRNA news agency said. 

IRNA said 141 people were wounded in the blasts with some "in critical condition". 

The incident happened on the anniversary of Soleimani's killing in a US drone strike in Iraq in 2020. The state media quoted a local official in the Kerman province as saying that the "blasts were caused by terrorist attacks". 

According to the semi-official Nournews, "several gas canisters exploded on the road leading to the cemetery". 

Hundreds of people were present at the cemetery, and in the aftermath, state TV showed Red Crescent rescuers attending to wounded people at the ceremony.  

Reza Fallah, head of the Kerman province Red Crescent told state TV: "Our rapid response teams are evacuating the injured... But there are waves of crowds blocking roads." 

Iran-based Tasnim news agency reported that the first blast happened at 15:04 pm (local time) when people were packed on a road leading to a cemetery where the tomb of Soleimani is located. 

The second blast occurred around 13 minutes later.