Fox News Digital has learned that ISIS has claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings that killed at least 24 people this week in Iran, targeting commemorations for an Iranian general killed by U.S. drone strike in 2020.
Iran has pledged revenge after Sunni extremist group Jundullah claimed two of their members detonated explosive belts near a crowd gathered for Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani’s tomb.
Updates
Recently, gunmen linked to ISIS carried out an attack against a police station in the northern Sinai Peninsula and killed 17 people, as well as killing a French hostage in Libya and targeting Shiite mosques in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Kurdish forces recaptured Sinjar in Iraq while U.S. airstrikes struck targets associated with ISIS targets in Syria; finally the House voted in support of authorizing the Pentagon to train and equip Syrian rebels.
The bombings occurred near the tomb of General Qassem Soleimani, former deputy to Iraq’s Supreme Leader and originally designated to attack his convoys. Initial estimates estimated the death toll as exceeding 100; later revised down to 95 victims were injured as many died from gunshots and burns from bombs set off by ISIS militants who destroyed several landmarks such as Palmyra’s Tetrapylon monument and Roman theater facade, Mosul hotel in western Mosul and blew them up in order to prevent Iraqi forces from approaching and taking control over.
ISIS claimed responsibility for suicide bombings that killed 84 people this week in Iran, and warned it was intended to target Shia Muslims. Iran’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, condemned and pledged retribution against ISIS’s attack; its “caliphate” even named two attackers who targeted crowds celebrating military commander Qassem Soleimani who was killed by US drone strike in Iraq earlier in 2020.
U.S. Drone Strike in Iraq
The Pentagon says it carried out “necessary and proportionate strikes” on facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin explained the strikes were carried out in response to an attack against US troops at Erbil airbase, and “disrupted and degraded” Iranian-aligned militias operating in the region.
Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group, played an essential role in combatting ISIS after its offensive across Iraq in 2014. Also known as PMF, they have often come into conflict with Kurdish forces; thus causing significant concern from Washington about its actions.
ISIS claimed responsibility this week for bombings in Iran that struck at a ceremony commemorating Qassem Soleimani, who led Iran’s elite Quds Force that conducts clandestine operations overseas and was killed by U.S. forces in 2020. Suicide bombers carried out these attacks near Soleimani’s gravesite near Tehran’s Quds Force headquarters – as claimed by ISIS’ claim.
Israel Forces in Gaza
Israel has escalated its offensive in Gaza after Hamas broke a ceasefire intended to end hostilities following a deadly raid against a border post on Oct 7. Airstrikes and ground operations by its military have targeted Hamas facilities, tunnels and infrastructure across Gaza.
Unrwa, the Palestinian refugee agency, reported on November 8 that 26% of Gazans, or 576,600 individuals, have exhausted their food supplies in response to Israel’s offensive. Unrwa also warned of rising tensions that could spark violence across the region.
An Iranian official suggested the bombings may have been perpetrated by suicide attackers who used explosive belts thrown by suicide attackers to strike, according to state news agency IRNA. These explosions took place outside security checkpoints; at least one explosion seemed remotely detonated while others arrived to assist those injured by it; after which, another explosion took place as others arrived to assist those hurt from it.
