More than 100 people were killed in the Iranian city of Kerman on January 3 after twin blasts near the burial site of military commander Qasem Soleimani, in what officials called a terror attack.
The blasts, at least one of which was caused by a bomb, state TV said, came on the fourth anniversary of Soleimani’s death, and threatens to accelerate tensions in the region that have spiked since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Iranian Health Minister Bahram Eynollahi revised the death toll down to 95 from 103 Thursday and said 211 people had been injured, IRNA reported.
Some of the injured are in critical condition and there is a possibility of the death toll rising.
The first explosion was 700 meters from Soleimani’s grave, and the second was 1 km away as pilgrims visited the site.
Soleimani was killed by a US airstrike ordered by former President Donald Trump at Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020.
Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the first explosion happened at 3:00 p.m. local time (6 a.m. ET). Vahidi said the second, more deadly blast took place 20 minutes later, when other pilgrims came to help the injured. The two blasts took place around 20 minutes apart, Iran's interior minister said.
Iran declared Thursday a day of mourning following the blasts and Raisi canceled his upcoming trip to Turkey.
