Iran identifies alleged mastermind behind Soleimani memorial bombings that left nearly 100 dead: report

Iran announced Thursday that it has identified the alleged mastermind behind dual suicide bombing attacks that left nearly 100 people dead at a recent memorial for late Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed years ago by a U.S. drone strike. The IRNA news agency carried a statement by the intelligence ministry saying the main suspect who planned the Jan. 3 attack in Kerman, a city southeast of the Iranian capital of Tehran, was a Tajik national known by his alias Abdollah Tajiki. Tajiki reportedly entered the country in mid-December by crossing Iran's southeast border, and left two days before the attack, after making the bombs. One bomber first detonated his explosives at the ceremony in Kerman, then another attacked 20 minutes later as emergency workers and other people tried to help the wounded from the first explosion, according to The Associated Press. The report identified one of the bombers by his family name of Bozrov, saying the man was 24 years old and had Tajik and Israeli nationality.