What’s known so far about the deadly explosions in Iran

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This article was published 03/01/2024 (1009 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At least 95 people were killed in Iran Wednesday after back-to-back explosions at an event commemorating the 2020 slaying of a prominent general by the United States, Iranian officials said. More than 210 people were wounded in the attack, for which there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Here’s what else is known — and what remains unclear — about the explosions:

• Authorities initially said the twin bombings killed at least 103 people, but the death toll was later revised lower because some names had been counted twice. At least 211 were wounded, and dozens remained in critical condition, officials said.

• The attack is the deadliest to strike Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution.

• The second explosion occurred about 20 minutes after the first, which is often a technique used by militants to harm both civilians and emergency responders after an initial assault.

• The attack came during commemorations for the fourth anniversary of the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, in a U.S. drone strike in neighboring Iraq. The explosions occurred near his grave site as long lines of people gathered for the event.

• No group has claimed responsibility for the attack in Kerman.

• Iran has faced targeted killings and sabotage attacks suspected to have been carried out by Israel. However, those assaults did not include mass casualty bombings like Wednesday’s attack.

• Sunni extremist groups including the Islamic State group have conducted large-scale attacks in the past that killed civilians in Shiite-majority Iran.