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The explosions were heard as Iran and its Shiite allies celebrate the memory of the general, killed in January 2020 in Baghdad in an American drone attack.
At least 53 people were killed in a twin explosion Wednesday near the tomb of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who was the architect of Iran’s military operations in the Middle East and whose death Iran is marking the fourth anniversary of, reported state television.
The incident took place near the Saheb al-Zaman mosque, where Soleimani’s tomb is located, in Kerman, southern Iran. Two explosions were heard a few minutes apart.
Causes of explosion unknown
According to television images, rescuers were working on the spot, where many people were gathered for the anniversary of the general’s death. The causes of the double explosion are not yet known.
Qassem Soleimani was killed in January 2020, at the age of 62, during an American drone attack in Iraq. A key figure in the Iranian regime, he was also one of the country’s most popular public figures.
After serving in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, Soleimani quickly rose through the ranks, eventually becoming head of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, responsible for the Islamic Republic’s external operations. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared three days of national mourning at the time of his death.