Islamic State (IS) group claims responsibility for deadly Iran bombings

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility on Thursday for two explosions that killed nearly 100 people and wounded scores at a ceremony in Iran to commemorate commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by a US drone in 2020.

The group posted a statement on its affiliate Telegram channels.

The blasts came as Iran observed a day of mourning Thursday for at least 84 people killed when two bombs ripped through a crowd commemorating the slain Revolutionary Guards general.

The death toll was revised down from around 100 the day after what Iranian authorities labelled a "terrorist attack" that also wounded hundreds near Soleimani's tomb in the southern city of Kerman.

The blasts ripped through crowds who had come to honour Soleimani, four years after a targeted US drone strike in Baghdad killed the veteran senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Investigators have confirmed that the first blast, which struck at around 2:45 pm (1115 GMT) some 700 metres (yards) from Soleimani's grave, was detonated by a "suicide bomber", the official IRNA news agency reported Thursday.

Investigations are continuing into the trigger for the second explosion but it was "very probably another suicide bomber", IRNA said, citing an "informed source".

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday blamed "evil and criminal enemies" of the Islamic republic, without naming them, and vowed a "harsh response".

Regional tensions have surged amid the Gaza war sparked when Palestinian militant group Hamas launched their deadly October 7 attack on Israel, which Tehran welcomed while denying any involvement.

(Reuters)