Iran suspects suicide bombers in attack that killed 84 as purported ISIL claim circulates

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES • Investigators believe suicide bombers likely carried out an attack on a commemoration for an Iranian general slain in a 2020 U.S. drone strike, state media reported Thursday, as Iran grappled with its worst mass-casualty attack in decades and as the wider Mideast remains on edge.

A purported claim of responsibility circulated online attributed the attack to the Islamic State group (ISIL), though it could not be immediately verified by The Associated Press.

Wednesday’s attack in Kerman killed at least 84 people and wounded another 284. It targeted a ceremony honouring Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, held as an icon by supporters of the country’s theocracy and viewed by the U.S. military as a deadly foe who aided militants who killed American troops in Iraq.

A report by the state-run IRNA news agency, later aired by state television, quoted an unnamed “informed source” for the suicide bombing information.

The outlets quoted the official as saying that surveillance footage from the route to the commemoration at Kerman’s Matryrs Cemetery clearly showed a male suicide bomber detonating explosives. The official said the second blast “probably” came from another suicide bomber, though it hadn’t been determined beyond doubt.

The purported ISIL claim, circulated among jihadists online, claimed the two attackers’ names were Omar al-mowahed and Seif-allah al-mujahed. The claim said the men carried out the attacks with explosive vests. It also used disparaging language when discussing Shiites, which ISIL views as heretics.

However, the alleged statement did not identify which arm of ISIL carried out the assault and only bore the group’s name at the top in English.

ISIL, which once held vast territory across Iraq and Syria, ultimately were beaten back by U.s.-led forces. It has been in disarray in the years since, though it has mounted major assaults.

ISIL’S affiliates still exist across the world and the group has claimed previous attacks in Iran in the past. High-casualty suicide bombings long have been a tactic for its militants.