Over 100 killed in blasts near Iranian commander's grave

Two explosions killed more than 100 people and wounded scores at a ceremony in Iran on Wednesday to commemorate top commander Qassem Soleimani who was killed by a US drone in 2020, Iranian officials said, blaming unspecified "terrorists".

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Iranian state television reported a first and then a second blast during a crowded anniversary event at the cemetery where Soleimani is buried in the southeastern city of Kerman.

An unnamed official told state news agency IRNA that "two explosive devices planted along the road leading to Kerman's Martyrs' Cemetery were detonated remotely by terrorists".

State television said that at least 103 people had been killed and 211 others injured, making it one of the worst such attacks in Iran, which has faced similar incidents in the past from various groups, including Islamic State.

No one claimed responsibility for Wednesday's blasts.Red Crescent rescuers tended 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 was much higher. "I heard a very loud sound and then felt pain in my back then I could not feel my legs," a wounded woman at a Kerman hospital told state television.