People gather at the scene of explosions during a ceremony held to mark the death of late Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, in Kerman, Iran, January 3, 2024.
Credit: WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
The Islamic State claimed responsibility on Thursday for the bombing attack that killed 84 people in Kerman, Iran, on Wednesday, according to a post on the extremist group’s official Telegram account.
On Telegram, the group called it a “dual martyrdom operation” and described how two militants approached a commemoration ceremony at the tomb of Gen. Qassem Soleimani and detonated explosive belts strapped to their bodies “near the grave of the hypocrite leader,” referring to Soleimani. The general — a widely revered and feared Iranian military and security leader — was assassinated four years ago in a US drone attack.
The statement identified the two attackers as Omar al-Mowahid and Sayefulla al-Mujahid.
The Islamic State announcement dovetailed with US intelligence assessments, which indicated the attack was most likely the work of the extremist group, according to four US officials, as well as with assessments by regional military officials.
Some Iranian leaders had initially appeared to blame Israel for the attack, stoking fears that the war in the Gaza Strip — in which Israel is battling Hamas, a Palestinian ally of Iran — would widen into a regional conflict. But Western officials had cast doubt on that theory.
The Islamic State’s claims also contrasted with initial Iranian reports that the bombs had been placed in two bags and remotely detonated along the road to the cemetery in Kerman, in which thousands of people taking part in the commemoration were walking.
US officials said it was unlikely the Islamic State’s intention was to frame Israel for the bombings or set off a wider war. Instead, it was probably seizing an opportunity to hit an enemy: The Islamic State, a Sunni group, has long been opposed to Iran, which has a Shiite government and leads, funds and arms an alliance of Shiite groups across the Middle East.
Iran held a national day of mourning Thursday to honor victims of the twin explosions, which occurred not only at a tense moment in the Middle East but also on a highly symbolic day for some Iranians: the fourth anniversary of Soleimani’s death.
Iranian officials had put the death toll for the two blasts at 103 on Wednesday. But the interior minister, Ahmad Vahidi, said Thursday that 84 had been killed, according to Tasnim, a semiofficial news agency. Vahidi said the death toll might rise again because of the grave condition of some of the injured.