Islamic State has claimed responsibility for two explosions that occurred in Iran on Wednesday, 3rd January 2024 where nearly 100 people were killed and scores were wounded at a memorial for top Commander Qassem Soleimani who was killed in Iraq in 2020 by a U.S. drone.

This was disclosed in a statement on its affiliate Telegram Channels, the Militant Sunni Muslim group stated that two IS members had detonated their explosive belts in the crowd that had gathered at the cemetery in the Southeastern Iranian City of Kerman on Wednesday, 3rd January 2024 for the anniversary of Soleimani’s death.

The twin explosions wounded 284 people, including women and children.

“A very strong retaliation will be meted out to them by the hands of the soldiers of Soleimani,” Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber disclosed this in Kerman.

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Earlier, an unnamed source stated that the first explosion at the cemetery in Kerman, Soleimani’s hometown, “was the result of a suicide bomber’s action”.

“The cause of the second blast was most likely the same,” the source said.

The United Nations Security Council in a statement condemned Wednesday’s “cowardly terrorist attack” in Kerman and sent its condolences to the victims’ families and the Iranian government.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has condemned Wednesday’s “heinous and inhumane crime.” Iran’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, vowed revenge for the bombings.