Attack on Commemoration of Soleimani's Death Leaves 103 Dead

Thousands of Iranians gathered to remember Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who died as a result of a U.S. drone attack in 2020.

On Wednesday, at least 103 Iranians died and 173 people were injured due to two explosions in the cemetery of the city of Kerman, where the fourth anniversary of the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani was being commemorated.

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The first explosion occurred about 700 meters from Soleimani's tomb, and the second one a kilometer away. Both bombs were remotely detonated.

Local newspapers reported that among the dead are six children, and at least a dozen of the injured are in critical condition.

Authorities in the province of Kerman stated that the explosions were a terrorist act and activated emergency measures in hospitals to receive the injured.

So far, the Red Crescent in Kerman has transported about 50 injured individuals to hospitals from the cemetery, where thousands gathered today to remember Soleimani, a martyr of the Iranian revolution who died in 2020 as a result of a U.S. drone attack at Baghdad airport.

"After serving in the Iran-Iraq War between 1980 and 1988, Soleimani quickly rose through the ranks and became head of the Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared three days of national mourning in the moment of his death," Le Monde recalled.

"Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will speak on the occasion of the commemoration of the assassination of Gen. Soleimani, during a speech scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, a day after the assassination of a powerful Hamas leader in Beirut," it added.