The Islamic State group used one of its channels on the messaging platform Telegram on Thursday to claim responsibility for the bombing in Iran that killed around 100 people at a memorial service for terrorist mastermind Qassem Soleimani.
Iranian officials hinted or outright accused the United States and Israel of orchestrating the bomb attack on Wednesday, the fourth anniversary of Soleimani's inauguration. Removal He was coordinating a terrorist attack on mainland Iraq when he was attacked by a U.S. drone.
Soleimani was the commander of the Quds Force, a division of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), a designated terrorist organization. He was targeted by the United States after he orchestrated attacks on U.S. military personnel by Shiite militias in Iraq, one of which killed a military contractor. He was also involved in planning an attack on the US embassy in Baghdad, which would have been an act of war if he had succeeded.
In this September 18, 2016 file photo published by the official website of Iran's Supreme Leader's Office, Revolutionary Guard General Qasem Soleimani (center) attends a conference in Tehran, Iran (Iran via Associated Press) Office of the Supreme Leader, file).
Iran's theocracy declared Soleimani a “martyr” and vowed revenge for his death. The regime organizes regular rallies for the slain Revolutionary Guards officer, but Iranian dissidents often burn his photo to show their defiance.
On Wednesday, thousands of Iranians were attending an event in Soleiman's hometown of Kerman to mark the anniversary of his “martyrdom.” explosion They occurred within 10 minutes of each other. This bomb caused a mass assault, and a second bomb killed both fleeing civilians and first responders, a fairly common terrorist tactic. The Iranian government has so far confirmed 95 deaths, but hundreds more were injured.
Iran vows to retaliate against President Ebrahim Raisi's attack condemned as the “heinous and inhumane” work of “brutal criminals.”
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a news conference in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023 (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow).
Iranian officials and proxies, such as Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, accused the United States and Israel of ordering or carrying out the attack.
On Thursday, Islamic State issued the following statement: statement The Telegram reported that two members of the group “deactivated explosive vests” during Soleimani's ceremony.
