- At least 20 people killed and 40 wounded after two explosions hit ceremony
At least 20 people have been killed and 40 wounded after two explosions rocked a ceremony that was being held to mark the 2020 assassination of Iran’s top commander Qassem Soleimani in a US drone attack.
The first explosion was quickly followed by a second close to a cemetery in the southeastern city of Kerman where thousands had gathered to mark the four-year anniversary of Soleimani’s killing.
Harrowing video showed scores of bloodied victims lying on the floor as others stumbled away from the blast scene close to the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque where Soleimani is buried in what has been described as a ‘terrorist attack’.
Other video showed plumes of smoke rising up into the sky as thousands of people who had been walking towards the cemetery screamed in horror. The crowd were seen running away after the two explosions ripped through Kerman.
Thousands had gathered to mark the four-year anniversary of the ruthless commander’s assassination when the explosions erupted near the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque.
The explosions came a day after an Israeli drone strike killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon’s capital Beirut amid fears the Middle East will be engulfed in a brutal war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously vowed to cut ‘the head off the snake’ and launch a military attack against Iran after Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, which is backed by Tehran, fired rockets at Israel.
Video showed plumes of smoke rising up into the sky as thousands of people who had been walking towards the cemetery to mark Soleimani’s assassination screamed in horror
‘The incident is a terrorist attack,’ Rahman Jalali, the deputy governor of Kerman province where Soleimani is buried, told the television.
Several people were injured in a stampede as they tried to flee the carnage, with several ambulances rushing to the scene.
This is a breaking news story, more to follow…
