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Blasts in Iran’s Kerman committed by suicide bombers — agency

After a thorough examination of the crime sites and the analysis of surveillance camera records, "it can be said definitely that the first blast was committed by a suicide bomber and the second one, most probably, was caused by the same reason," the IRNA news agency reported

© Mahdi Karbakhsh Ravari/Mehr News Agnecy via AP

DUBAI, January 5. /TASS/. Explosive devices in the Iranian city of Kerman were activated by suicide bombers, the IRNA news agency reported, citing a source.

After a thorough examination of the crime sites and the analysis of surveillance camera records, "it can be said definitely that the first blast was committed by a suicide bomber and the second one, most probably, was caused by the same reason," it said. According to the source, the suicide bombers blew themselves up at a distance of 1.5 and 2.7 kilometers from the tomb of General Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (an elite unit of the Iranian military), because they could not come closer as there was a metal-detection gateway at the entrance to the cemetery.

On January 3, twin blasts occurred in the Iranian city of Kerman during a ceremony commemorating an anniversary of General Qasem Soleimani’s death. Iran’s Health and Medical Education Minister Bahram Einollahi said that 95 people were killed and 211 more injured. The Iranian government declared a day of national mourning on January 4. The Islamic State terrorist organization (outlawed in Russia) claimed responsibility for the terror attack.

General Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (an elite unit of the Iranian military), was killed in a US airstrike near Baghdad Airport on January 3, 2020.

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