Stampede kills 40 mourners at funeral of Qassem Soleimani and leaves more than 200 injured after huge crowds gathered in his home town ahead of his burial
Forty mourners have been killed and more than 200 injured after a stampede broke out on the final day of Qassem Soleimani's funeral in Iran today.
Iran's farewell to the general descended into chaos after thousands of people thronged to his home town of Kerman, where he was due to be buried later on the third day of his funeral.
With a sea of mourners rushing to see Soleimani's coffin, state media said the overcrowding had caused a stampede which left 40 people dead and 213 injured.
Footage which circulated online appeared to show emergency workers desperately trying to rescue mourners who had been thrown to the ground and badly hurt during the crush.
Soleimani's burial was later postponed, further prolonging the funeral.
Iran today renewed its vows of revenge against America, which regarded the general as a terrorist leader and killed him in a drone strike in Iraq last Friday.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who yesterday wept in public over Soleimani's casket, has ordered his country's forces to retaliate directly against US interests rather than relying on its proxies in the region.
Tehran says it has lined up 13 'revenge scenarios' and revolutionary guards leader Hossein Salami told the crowds today that Iran would 'set ablaze' US allies.
US forces are braced for a reprisal but their future in the Middle East was thrown into confusion yesterday when a letter confirming a withdrawal from Iraq was apparently circulated by mistake.
Donald Trump has vowed to retaliate if Iran strikes against US targets, despite lukewarm support from his allies including Israel which today declared its intention to 'stay out of it'. Source
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