Two blasts heard near grave of Iran Guards general Qasem Soleimani, 20 killed

Over 70 people were killed on Wednesday and over 100 were injured in the Iranian city of Kerman after two explosions near the grave of top commander Qassem Soleimani who was killed in a 2020 U.S. drone attack, said Iranian officials.

People were gathered at the cemetery to commemorate the dead anniversary of Soleimani. "The blasts were caused by terrorist attacks," state media quoted a local official in the Kerman province as saying. Babak Yektaparast, a spokesperson for Iran's emergency services, was reported later as saying 73 people had been killed and 170 injured.

The semi-official Nournews had said earlier that "several gas canisters exploded on the road leading to the cemetery". State TV showed Red Crescent rescuers attending to wounded people at the ceremony, where hundreds of Iranians had gathered to mark the anniversary of Soleimani's death. Some Iranian news agencies said the number of wounded people was much higher.