In stampede at Soleimani’s funeral

O Dozens also injured as mourners throng streets of Kerman

BAGHDAD: Dozens of people were killed in a stampede as crowds of mourners packed streets for the funeral of a slain military Iranian commander in his hometown of Kerman yesterday, forcing his burial to be postponed, state-affiliated media reported.

Tens of thousands of people had poured on to the streets of Kerman to pay tribute to General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq on Friday.

Many chanted “Death to America”.

The Young Journalists Club, which is affiliated to state television, said on its website that a stampede had broken out and 35 people were killed and 48 wounded.

State media reported that most of the injured were elderly people who had been going from Azadi Square in Kerman towards Beheshti Street when they got trapped in the huge crowds,

The injured were immediately transferred to hospital.

Soleiman’s body had been taken to Iraqi and other Iranian cities before arriving in his hometown Kerman for burial, prompting mass outpourings of grief nationwide as the coffin was carried through streets.

Yesterday, Iranian lawmakers voted to designate all US forces around the world “terrorists” over Soleimani’s killing.

Parliament also agreed to bolster the coffers of the Quds Force, which Soleimani led, by US$244 million (RM988 million).

In Kerman, people converged from afar on

Azadi Square where two flag-draped coffins were on display, with the second one reportedly containing the remains of Soleimani’s closest aide, Brigadier General Hossein Pourjafari.

In other developments yesterday, Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said 13 “revenge scenarios” were being considered, Fars news agency reported.

In Washington, the US defence secretary denied reports the US military was preparing to withdraw from Iraq.

US and Iranian warnings of new strikes and retaliation have also stoked concerns about a broader Middle East conflict and led to calls in the US Congress for legislation to stop US President Donald Trump going to war with Iran.

“We will take revenge, a hard and definitive revenge,” the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, General Hossein Salami, told mourners in Kerman. – Agencies