ISIS on Wednesday took responsibility for a suicide bombing in Iran that killed at least 84 people at a ceremony marking the fourth anniversary of the death of Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani.
Islamic State issued a telegraphed statement on Thursday acknowledging responsibility for the Kerman bombing, the worst terrorist attack in decades, amid widespread unrest across the Middle East.
Experts who reviewed the statement believe the extremists were trying to exploit instability in the region.
They are not trying to escalate Israel's war against Iran-backed Gaza rulers Hamas by targeting a ceremony commemorating General Soleimani, whom ISIS killed in a US airstrike in 2020. I'm guessing.
Wednesday's attack also wounded about 284 people who were paying homage to military leaders who commanded a militia network that targeted U.S. troops during the long U.S. occupation of Iraq.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed a “stern response” to the attack, with chunks of asphalt left behind on the bloody road where one bomb exploded and the explosives causing even more damage. This suggests that it was packed with debris that caused
Mohammad Mehdi Ghalehani, a volunteer with the Revolutionary Guard's Basij unit who was injured in the “terrifying” attack, said: “I didn't understand exactly what happened. This happened suddenly.”
“Many people died and most were injured when this incident occurred. None of the deceased had any body parts intact, not even their hands or their entire faces.”
According to ISIS, the suicide attackers Omar al-Mowahed and Seif Allah al-Mujahed carried out their atrocities while wearing explosive vests.
Attacks on Red Sea shipping by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and Israeli airstrikes against enemy targets in Lebanon and Syria in recent days have increased regional unrest and given ISIS the authority to launch brutal attacks. Experts suggested that it did.
“This falls into the category of ISIS, especially since it was an attack that resulted in such a high number of casualties,” said Aaron Y. Zelin, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
“They're kind of like [comic book character] Joker. They want to see the world burn. They don't care how it happens as long as it benefits them. ”
Iran indirectly blamed Israel for the attack, but did not immediately accept responsibility for ISIS.
In Kerman, residents on Thursday trampled on signs with Israeli flags and the slogan “Death to Israel.”
According to Iranian state media, the explosion occurred outside the security perimeter, about a mile to a little more than a mile and a half from Soleimani's basement.
“The moment I turned around to say to my husband's sister, 'Let's go to the square,' the bomb exploded,” said Madier Sazmand, 38, from her hospital bed in Kerman province.
“If I had taken 10 more steps, I would have been right on top of the bomb.”
with post wire
