Iran Press via AFPTV
Ambulances leave the scene of an explosion near the grave of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in southern Iran on January 3.
CNN –
ISIS has claimed responsibility for deadly twin attacks near the gravesite of slain military commander Qasem Soleimani in southern Iran.
At least 84 people were killed and 284 injured in Wednesday's explosions, state news agency IRNA reported. It was the deadliest attack in Iran since the 1979 revolution.
ISIS media wing Al-Furqan issued a statement on Thursday – more than 24 hours after the explosions – claiming two suicide bombers detonated their explosive vests as Shiite mourners gathered near his grave on the fourth anniversary of Soleimani's killing gathered in his hometown of Kerman.
The statement, titled “And kill them wherever you find them,” named the two attackers and said they targeted a gathering of “polytheists” near the grave of their “dead leader” Soleimani taken.
ISIS considers the Shiite branch of Islam heretical and has attacked shrines and religious sites in Iran in the past.
The group provided no further evidence and its account of the explosions differed from that of the Iranian media. The death toll reported by IS was also significantly higher than those reported by Iranian authorities.
Iran did not immediately comment on IS's claim of responsibility.
Iran's interior minister said the two explosions occurred in quick succession, with the second, deadlier explosion occurring as others rushed to help the wounded.
Another state media outlet, IRINN, said the first explosion was caused by a bomb placed in a suitcase in a car that appeared to have been detonated remotely and was not caused by a suicide bomber.
Videos showed large numbers of people running around after the explosions, bloodied bodies on the ground and ambulances driving through the crowd.
Iran declared Thursday a day of mourning and President Ebhrahim Raisi canceled a planned trip to Turkey.
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The two explosions took place about 20 minutes apart, the Iranian interior minister said.
In the period between the attacks and the declaration of IS, allegations arose. Iranian President Ebhrahim Raisi blamed Israel for the explosions and warned it would pay a “heavy price.” The Israeli military told CNN it had “no comment” on the matter.
Before ISIS's statement, analysts and a U.S. official had speculated that the explosion showed signs of a terrorist attack.
“It actually looks like a terrorist attack, like we have seen from ISIS in the past. And as far as we know, I think that’s our basic assumption right now,” the official said.
Soleimani, once one of Iran's most powerful men, was killed on January 3, 2020, in a U.S. airstrike at Baghdad International Airport ordered by former President Donald Trump.
Known as Iran's “shadow commander,” he was head of the Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force, an elite unit in charge of Iran's foreign operations that was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States. He led Iranian military operations in Iraq and Syria.
This is a developing story and will be updated.