By Emmanuel Nduka
The hands of Iranian Emergency Service were bloodied on Wednesday, after at least 103 people were killed when two bombs in quick succession struck a crowd commemorating slain general Qasem Soleimani on the anniversary of his killing, state media reported.
The blasts, which state television called a “terrorist attack”, came with tensions running high in the Middle East, a day after Hamas number two Saleh al-Aruri — an Iran ally — was killed in drone attack on a Beirut southern suburb which Lebanese officials blamed on Israel.
According to AFP, the blasts stuck near the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque in Kerman, Soleimani’s southern hometown where he is buried, as supporters gathered to mark the fourth anniversary of his killing in a US drone strike just outside Baghdad airport.
While there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, Kerman’s deputy governor, Rahman Jalali, said the explosions were a “terrorist attack”.
“The number of people killed rose to 103 following the death of people injured during the terrorist explosions,” said official IRNA news agency, which earlier reported 73 deaths.
Another 141 people were wounded in the bombings, IRNA said, adding that some were in “critical condition”.
Quoting informed sources, Iran’s Tasnim news agency said “two bags carrying bombs went off” at the site. “The perpetrators… of this incident apparently detonated the bombs by remote control”.
The ISNA news agency quoted Kerman mayor Saeed Tabrizi as saying the bombs exploded 10 minutes apart.
“We were walking towards the cemetery when a car suddenly stopped behind us and a waste bin containing a bomb exploded,” an eyewitness was quoted by ISNA as saying.
“We only heard the sound of the explosion and saw people falling. There was a bomb in the trash can,” the witness added.
Viral online footage showed crowds scrambling to flee as security personnel cordoned off the area.
Paramedics who were dispatched to the area following the first explosion were among the 73 killed, according to Iran’s Red Crescent.
