IS claims responsibility for Iran bombings that killed 84: Report

Tehran [Iran], January 4 (ANI): The Islamic State on Thursday claimed responsibility for the bombing attack that killed 84 people in Kerman, Iran, on Wednesday, according to a post on the terror outfit's official Telegram account, The New York Times reported.
The group on its Telegram channel, called it a "dual martyrdom operation", describing how two terrorists approached a commemoration ceremony at the tomb of Major General Qassim Suleimani and detonated explosive belts strapped to their bodies "near the grave of the hypocrite leader," referring to General Suleimani. The general, an Iranian military and security leader, was assassinated four years ago in an American drone attack.
The statement identified the two attackers as Omar al-Mowahid and Sayefulla al-Mujahid.
According to The New York Times, the Islamic State's announcement came together with American intelligence assessments, which indicated that the attack was most likely the work of the Islamic State, according to four American officials, as well as with assessments by regional military officials.
Initially, some Iranian leaders had blamed Israel for the attack, causing fear that the war in Gaza -- in which Israel is battling Hamas, a Palestinian ally of Iran -- would widen into a regional conflict.
But Western officials had cast doubt on that theory, saying that although Israel is believed to have regularly carried out covert operations in Iran, they have typically been targeted operations against specific individuals, Iranian scientists or officials, or strikes to destroy nuclear or weapons facilities.
The Islamic State's claims also contrasted with initial Iranian reports that the bombs had been placed in two bags and remotely detonated along the road to the cemetery in Kerman, in which thousands of people taking part in the commemoration were walking, as per The New York Times.
American officials said that it was unlikely that the Islamic State's intention was to frame Israel for the bombings or set off a wider war. Instead, it was probably seizing an opportunity to hit an enemy: The Islamic State, a Sunni Islamist group, has long been opposed to Iran, which has a Shiite Islamic government and leads, funds and arms an alliance of Shiite groups across the Middle East.
Iran on Thursday held a national day of mourning to honour victims of the twin explosions, which occurred not only at a tense moment in West Asia but also on a highly symbolic day for some Iranians -- the fourth anniversary of General Suleimani's death. General Suleimani is revered among many Iranians, especially those who support the government, The New York Times reported.
Iranian officials had put the death toll for the two blasts at 103 on Wednesday. But the interior minister, Ahmad Vahidi, said on Thursday that 84 had been killed, according to Tasnim, a semi-official news agency.
Speaking during a visit to a hospital that was treating people wounded in the explosions, Vahidi said the death toll might rise again because of the grave condition of some of the injured. A total of 284 were wounded in the attack, including 220 still hospitalized in Kerman, many of whom were in stable condition or requiring minor surgeries, he said, according to Tasnim, according to The New York Times. (ANI)