Iran mourns those slain in Islamic State-claimed suicide blasts as death toll rises to 89
Iran is mourning those slain in an Islamic State group-claimed suicide bombing targeting a commemoration for a general slain in a U.S. drone strike in 2020
KERMAN, Iran (AP) — Iran on Friday mourned those slain in an Islamic State group-claimed suicide bombing targeting a commemoration for a general slain in a U.S. drone strike in 2020, as the death toll in the attack rose to at least 89.
Despite the militants claiming responsibility for the attack, the wider tensions shaking the Middle East during Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip became intertwined with the funeral in the usually peaceful city of Kerman, about 820 kilometers (510 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran.
The top commander of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard linked the attack to the U.S. The gathered crowd shouted: "Death to America!" and “Death to Israel!”
“If you are a man, fight with us. Why do you kill oppressed and defenseless women and children?” Gen. Hossein Salami said.
