Islamic State claims responsibility for Iran bombings that killed at least 84

From the Guardian

Afghan affiliate of IS claims responsibility for blasts in memorial crowd as Tehran tightens security on its eastern borders.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on a crowd in southern Iran marking the anniversary of the death of the senior Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Suleimani.

At least 84 people died when two blasts ripped through the crowd near Suleimani’s tomb in the city of Kerman, four years after he was killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad. Suleimani had been a staunch enemy of IS, which resents the damage he did to its cause in Iraq and Syria

Early on Thursday Iran had said it was bolstering security along its borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan, in the first tangible sign that it suspected that the attack was the work of an IS affiliate.

 One of Iran’s main goals will be to limit the amount of traffic crossing the border, something that will be discussed with the Taliban.

…in a statement posted on its affiliate Telegram channels, the Sunni extremist group said two IS members had detonated their explosive belts in the crowd. The group has an affiliate – Islamic State Khorasan Province – that is primarily active in Afghanistan.

The Revolutionary Guards promised a harsh response, describing the attack as a “blind and spiteful act to induce insecurity in the country and take revenge on the love and devotion of the great nation of Iran”.