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| At least 73 people have been killed in twin bombings near the tomb of Qasem Soleimani, the former head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) | Photo: Taken from video |
The bombing happened next to Qasem Soleimani's tomb on the fourth anniversary of his assassination.
In a report of Iran's state broadcaster IRIB, this Wednesday evening, it is said that the attack took place on the people gathered at the Saheb Al-Zaman Mosque located in the southern city of Kerman, Iran. 173 people were injured.
IRIB is describing it as a terrorist attack, quoting the deputy governor of Kerman province. A video of the incident has gone viral online. It can be seen that after the explosion, many wounded bodies are lying on the road around the mosque.
According to a BBC report, hundreds of people were walking towards Qassem Soleimani's grave on Wednesday to mark the anniversary of his death. At this time, the explosion happened. It should be noted that Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US drone attack on Baghdad airport in Iraq on January 3, 2020.
Qasem Soleimani was considered the country's 'most powerful man' after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
As commander of the IRGC, Soleimani oversaw the Quds Force, which was responsible for conducting the force's operations in the outside world. He was regarded as the architect of Tehran's Middle East policy, being the mastermind behind Iran's geopolitical strategy in the Middle East.
Washington considered Qassem Soleimani a threat to US policy in the Middle East. In 2020, US President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of Soleimani. Trump also described Qassem Soleimani as the 'world's most notorious terrorist'.