Iran: Over 100 killed in twin blasts near grave of country's top general Qassem Soleimani

Over 100 people were killed on Wednesday and several others were injured in the Iranian city of Kerman after two explosions near the grave of top commander Qassem Soleimani who was killed in a 2020 U.S. drone attack, said Iranian officials. 

People were gathered at the cemetery to commemorate the dead anniversary of Soleimani. "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. But the fatatily numbers have raised since then. Now, it is being reported that over 100 people have lost their lives to due to the two explosions. 

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.

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