Death toll in Islamic State-claimed suicide blasts rises to 91

There are 102 people still being treated in hospitals, of whom 11 are in critical condition.

Iranian mourners gather around coffins wrapped with the Iranian flags during the funeral ceremony for victims of yesterday’s explosion on January 5, 2024, in Kerman, Iran. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

The death toll from a suicide bombing in Iran claimed by the Islamic State group has risen to at least 91, state TV reported Saturday.

The TV quoted Babak Yektaparast, a spokesman for the country’s emergency services, as saying an 8-year boy and a 67-year-old man who were wounded in the attack have now died.

Yektaparast added that there are 102 people still being treated in hospitals, of whom 11 are in critical condition.

In Wednesday’s attack, one suicide bomber detonated his explosives, then another attacked 20 minutes later as emergency workers and other people tried to help the wounded.

The attack took place in Kerman, about 820 kilometers (510 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran. It targeted a commemoration for Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, killed in 2020 by a U.S. drone strike as he led its expeditionary Quds Force.

The intelligence ministry said Friday that one of the two suicide bombers was a Tajik national and 11 people linked to the attack have been arrested.

Published - January 07, 2024 04:32 am IST