The official logo of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence.
The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence has identified a main suspect in the January 3 deadly bombings that was claimed by ISIS.
The terrorist attack, which was carried out by two suicide bombers, targeted mourners near the grave of late Quds Force commander Major General Qassim Soleimani in the central Iranian city of Kerman. With the death of more than 90 people, it was the deadliest in Iran in decades.
In a statement released on January 11, the Ministry of Intelligence said that the the main suspect who planned the bombing was a Tajik national known by his alias Abdollah Tajiki.
The suspect had entered the country in mid-December by crossing Iran’s southeast border, and left two days before the attack, after making the bombs, according to the ministry.
The statement also identified one of the bombers by his family name of Bozrov, saying the man was 24 years old and had Tajik and Israeli nationality. It said he also arrived in Iran by crossing the southeastern border after months of training by ISIS in Afghanistan.
The ministry said that authorities were still trying to identify the second suicide bomber. In its claim of responsibility, ISIS identified the two bombers as Omar al-Mowahed and Seif-Allah al-Mujahed, but didn’t show their faces.
Iranian authorities have so far arrested 35 people across several provinces with purported links to the bombings, the statement noted
The death toll from the terrorist attack in Kerman rose to 94 on January 11. Iranian media said that 14 of the victims were Afghan nationals who were participating in the commemoration for the late Soleimani. Tehran has vowed that the attack will not go unpunished.
