Iran pays tribute to victims of attack claimed by ISIS, death toll rises

Europe 1 with AFP 12:13 p.m., January 05, 2024

Iranians on Friday paid tribute to some 90 victims of Wednesday's attack in southern Iran, near the tomb of General Qassem Soleimani, during a funeral in the southern city of Kerman, state media said. The twin blasts, claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group, came during a memorial ceremony in Kerman near the grave of General Soleimani, the former architect of Iran's military operations in the Middle East who was killed in January 2020 by a US strike in Iraq.

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on television on Friday that the intelligence services had arrested "some individuals involved" in the attack, without elaborating. The funeral began around noon in the courtyard of the Emam Ali mosque, where a crowd was gathered in front of dozens of coffins wrapped in Iranian flags, according to footage broadcast by state television. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and General Hossein Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guards, the Islamic Republic's ideological army, were present.

Death toll rises to 89

Ebrahim Raisi claimed in a speech that the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for the attack on Thursday, had been "trained" by Israel, the Islamic Republic's arch-enemy. "Know that the initiative belongs to us, the place and time (to retaliate against the Kerman attack) will be determined by our forces," he warned. IS "has disappeared" and "can now only act as a mercenary of Zionist and American politics," Salami said.

Many of those present waved the Iranian flag, that of the Lebanese Hezbollah, a Shiite movement allied with Tehran, or portraits of Qassem Soleimani. The death toll has risen to 89, including women and children, after five people were injured, state television said on Friday. At least <> of the victims are Afghan nationals, according to the same source.

Protests across the country to 'condemn terrorist attack'

The bodies of the victims from Kerman will be buried at the Martyrs' Cemetery in Kerman after the Friday prayer, while the others will be transferred to their hometowns. The TV also reported that protests will be held across the country after prayers to "condemn the terrorist attack" by ISIS. On Thursday, the jihadist group claimed responsibility for the attack via its Telegram channels, saying two of its members had "activated their explosive belts" in the middle of "a large gathering of apostates, near the grave of their leader".

General Soleimani, a key figure in the Islamic Republic and former head of the Quds Force, Iran's external operations arm, is celebrated in his country for his role in defeating ISIS in Iraq and Syria.