More than 100 killed in bomb blasts at Iranian memorial to assassinated general amid growing Middle East tensions
3 January 2024, 15:32 | Updated: 3 January 2024, 17:38
Dozens of people in Iran have been killed in two bombings during a ceremony to commemorate assassinated military leader Qasem Soleimani.
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At least 103 people were killed in two explosions during the memorial at his tomb in Kerman, southern Iran, according to state media.
More were said to be wounded after the blasts near Saheb al-Zaman mosque.
Crowds had gathered to pay their respects to Soleimani, the slain head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force.
Read more: Hamas deputy leader and three other members killed in explosion in Beirut
The theocratic dictatorship treats him as a martyr after the US killed him in a drone strike in Iraq in 2020 under then-president Donald Trump.
Washington viewed him as a major supporter of terrorism and instability in the Middle East.
The Revolutionary Guards are the hardcore army-within-an-army, and Quds Force - named for the Arabic word for Jerusalem, which is controlled by arch-enemy Israel - is its clandestine overseas operations unit.
It has strong ties to Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel is fighting both groups amid worries that regional tension could escalate if Iran got more involved.
It was unclear who was responsible for the blast, with authorities in Kerman describing it as a "terrorist attack".
The blasts follow the killing of a Hamas's deputy political leader Saleh al-Arouri, who was assassinated in Beirut.
Two Hamas militant commanders were killed alongside four other members in the drone strike.
Israel has refused to say if it was involved and praised the "surgical strike".
It appears to be entering "phase three" of its invasion of Gaza, which will see it concentrate more on raids and setting up a security buffer.
The Israel Defence Forces have released reservists and sent back five brigades that were in the north of Gaza.
