A stampede at a funeral for a top Iranian general killed at least 56 people and injured some 200 people, according to reports.
The stampede broke out as the funeral procession for Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani began in Kerman, Iran, the general’s hometown.
“Unfortunately as a result of the stampede, some of our compatriots have been injured and some have been killed during the funeral processions,” said Pirhossein Koulivand, head of Iran’s emergency medical services.
Iranian State TV said 56 were killed and 213 were injured.
Soleimani’s burial has been postponed, the ISNA news agency said. He is set to be buried between the graves of Enayatollah Talebizadeh and Mohammad Hossein Yousef Elahi, two former Guard soldiers killed in Iran’s 1980s war with Iraq.
Iranian police said millions had gathered in the Iranian capital to mourn the general on Monday. The Associated Press estimated the crowd was about 1 million people.
Soleimani was praised by Iranians as a hero for his work leading the Guard’s expeditionary Quds Force, but U.S. forces said he was responsible for the killing of American troops in Iraq and that he was plotting new attacks.
He was killed Friday in a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad’s airport.
In response, many Iranians are calling for retaliation against America.
“We tell our enemies that we will retaliate but if they take another…
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