Stampede during funeral procession of Qasem Soleimani causes deaths, delays burial
Thursday, January 9, 2020
During the funeral of Iranian commander General Qasem Soleimani on Tuesday, a stampede erupted, resulting in a several-hours postponement of Soleimani's burial, according to state media.
The stampede, which occurred in Kerman, resulted in at least 56 deaths and over 200 people injured, according to state television. Attendance at the procession in Kerman, Soleimani's hometown, was by varying reports tens or hundreds of thousands. It was to have been the last of several funeral processions for Soleimani.
More than a million people attended an earlier funeral procession, which took place in Tehran on Monday.
Soleimani was head of Iran's Quds Force. He was killed last week by a United States military airstrike in Iraq.
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Sources
- "Dozens killed in stampede at Soleimani's funeral: Iran state TV" — Al Jazeera, January 8, 2020
- "35 killed, 48 injured in stampede at Iranian general's funeral procession: report" — Daily Dawn, January 7, 2020
- "Burial of slain Iranian general Soleimani delayed due to huge crowds, STAMPEDE kills 40 – state media" — RT International, January 7, 2020