Both deadly blasts in Iran's Kerman "suicide attacks": Deputy Minister

Tehran: Iran's Deputy Interior Minister for Security Affairs, Majid Mir-Ahmadi, said on Friday that both bomb attacks that rocked the area near the tomb of Qassem Soleimani in Kerman, southeastern Iran, were "suicide attacks".

Mir-Ahmadi told the official IRNA news agency that parts of the bombers' bodies had been found at the site of Wednesday's attack, which has killed at least 89 people and wounded more than 280.

He added the country's intelligence forces had identified and arrested "different individuals" in five provinces, who were linked to the "terrorist attack" and had backed up the operations, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group claimed responsibility for the bombings on Thursday, asserting two suicide attackers carried out the blasts.

The bomb attacks on Wednesday marked one of the deadliest incidents in Iran in decades. Two explosions occurred near the Qassem Soleimani cemetery, where thousands of Iranians had gathered to honour the late general, who was assassinated in a US drone attack on January 3, 2020.