Blasts kills dozens gathered at ceremony for slain Iranian general

Iranian state media on Wednesday reported that two bomb blasts near the burial site of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani killed dozens of people. About 84 people died and more than 170 were wounded in the explosions near the Saheb al-Zaman mosque in the southern city of Kerman—officials twice adjusted lower an initial death toll estimate of 103. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the explosions, which Iranian officials called a terrorist attack.

Who was Soleimani? The Iranian general headed the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force. American forces killed Soleimani in a drone strike in Iraq in January 2020. He had planned attacks on coalition bases to kill and injure American and Iraqi personnel, according to a U.S. Department of Defense statement. Iranian officials said hundreds of people were gathered near his tomb Wednesday to mark the fourth anniversary of his death. 

Dig deeper: From the archives, read Harvest Prude and Mickey McLean’s report about Soleimani’s assassination.