At least 56 mourners killed in stampede at funeral for Iranian general

7 January 2020, 16:31

The general's coffin.
The general's coffin. Picture: PA

At least 56 mourners have been killed and up to 190 injured in a stampede at the burial ceremony of the slain Iranian general, local TV reports.

Iranian state TV has reported the incident happened at the funeral of Quds Force General Qassem Soleimani in his hometown of Kerman, in southeastern Iran. A local official said the death toll stood at 56.

Hundreds of thousands of people dressed in black took to the streets to mourn Soleimani.

State TV quoted the head of Iran’s emergency medical services, Pirhossein Koulivand, saying there had been a deadly stampede.

It is unclear what the cause of the stampede was, but vast numbers of people had been in the streets on Tuesday morning ahead of the planned burial.

Soleimani’s burial has since been postponed due to the size of the crowd.

Iran threatened "crushing revenge" against the US after President Trump ordered an attack last week in which Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was among seven people who died.

Major General Qassem Soleimani was once described by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a "living martyr of the revolution."

But in the eyes of those in Washington and Tel Aviv, he was directly responsible for fighters in Syria backing President Bashar al-Assad and for the deaths of American troops in Iraq.

Donald Trump has insisted he ordered the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani to "stop a war".
Donald Trump has insisted he ordered the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani to "stop a war". Picture: PA

US President Donald Trump said Soleimani had been "plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel".

The day following the attack, Mr Trump said: "We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war."

Prime minister Boris Johnson responded to the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and called him a "threat to all our interests."

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Police are hunting for the knifeman behind the Beckenham attack

Teenager arrested for attempted murder after Beckenham train stabbing leaves victim fighting for life

Exclusive
Johnny Mercer has been urged to hand over evidence of alleged Afghanistan war crimes

Johnny Mercer urged to 'do the right thing' and hand over evidence for Afghan war crime claims

The Labour leader has "full confidence" in his deputy

Keir Starmer has 'full confidence' in Angela Rayner amid row over house sale

Breaking
King Charles

King Charles says he is 'serving the nation with my whole heart' in Easter message

Pope Francis

Pope urges priests to avoid ‘clerical hypocrisy’ in Maundy Thursday speech

Keir Starmer has promised a 'full fat' devolution

‘Levelling up doesn't happen by magic’: Devolution is ‘essential for tackling inequality’, Keir Starmer says

Resident clears rubble from home

Russia wears down Ukrainian defences with missile and drone attacks

The swan - which has now been named Steve - was rescued from the roof of

Steve the swan saved by firefighters in supermarket roof rescue

The Thames Water crisis has deepened

Thames Water crisis deepens as shareholders refuse to give £500 million cash injection

File photos of snow in the UK

Storm Nelson batters Britain as torrential downpours and 70mph winds hit ahead of ‘white Easter’

Rescuers searching through rubble

Paramedics among 16 people killed by Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon

Hairdressers in Paris

French legislators ponder law to ban discrimination based on a person’s hair

HMP Bedford

Undercover reporter hired to work in jail with no vetting 'shocked by lack of security and open drug-taking'

Australian products in Shanghai

China ends tariffs on Australian wine as relations between countries thaw

Police are hunting for the knifeman behind the Beckenham attack

Lawless London: Manhunt continues for knifeman who stabbed train passenger - as two more injured in Tube station attack

Exclusive
The first gay couple to marry in the UK has expressed "outrage" at the Rwanda Bill

First gay couple to marry in UK ten years ago say government should do more to protect LGBTQ+ asylum seekers