Funerals began Friday morning in the Iranian capital for 17 victims of two attacks this week by Islamic State militants, the first time in recent memory Sunni jihadists managed to strike the heart of the Shiite Islamic Republic.

Six attackers died — including five men and a woman who blew herself up — and several were detained in connection with the attacks at Iran’s parliament and the tomb of Iran’s revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. More than 50 people were wounded in the morning attack on parliament, which was in session.

According to an Iranian government statement, the male attackers had returned to the country last summer after fighting for Islamic State in Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqah, Syria, and had “intended to carry out terrorist operations in religious cities.” The statement did not say if the attackers were Iranian citizens.

Reza Seifollahi, deputy chief of the Supreme National Security Council, told the independent newspaper Shargh that the male attackers were Iranian.

Before a funeral procession at parliament early Friday for guards killed there, Iran's supreme leader said the attacks will add to Iranians’ hatred of the United States and Saudi Arabia. In the wake of the attacks, Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard also released a statement implying that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia were to blame.

Khamenei said the Wednesday attacks, "Will not damage the Iranian nation's determination and the obvious result is nothing except an increase in hate for the governments of the United States and their stooges in the region like Saudi."

Saudi Arabia has denied responsibility for the attacks.

Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, also spoke out ahead of the funerals.

“Daesh is an international danger," he said, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

Mourners gathered outside the parliament complex Friday to watch the funeral procession, which followed a downtown candlelight vigil overnight.

Mohammad Rasouli, 66, sitting on the ground with a group across the street, said it was his duty to attend the procession and an afternoon funeral expected at 2 p.m. during weekly prayers.

"I came with my friends to show our solidarity with our supreme leader and nation. From here we go to Friday prayers. If we do not go there, Daesh will be emboldened," he said.

During the procession through parliament, the heads of Iran’s executive, legislative and judiciary branches all paid their respects, including President Hasan Rouhani, Larjani and the head of the judiciary, Sadeq Larijani Amoli.

Parliamentary staff who survived the attack also attended the procession under tight security. They stood alongside friends and family of the victims, who dressed in black. </s> Cairo (CNN) Four people have been arrested in connection with the Sunday bombing of a Coptic Orthodox cathedral in Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi told state television Monday.

The suicide bomber was 22-year-old Mahmoud Shafiq Mohamed Mostafa, who entered the church wearing an explosive belt, el-Sisi said. He added that authorities are searching for more suspects in the attack, which left 23 people dead and 49 others injured.

Meanwhile, mourners took to the streets to pay their respects to those who died in the bombing of the small church of St. Peter and St. Paul, which is attached to St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the city's Abbassiya district.

The funeral procession for the victims was held Monday at the Church of the Virgin Mary in Nasr City and was followed by a state funeral at the Unknown Soldier Memorial.

"This strike hurt us," el-Sisi said at the state funeral. "It caused us a lot of pain, but it will never break us."

Crowds lined the streets outside the church, with some trying to reach the ambulances carrying the coffins and the procession.

There were light skirmishes between mourners and security forces as police refused to let the crowds through to the funeral procession.

One woman cried at police, "You let people enter the church with a bomb but you won't let us in?"

People began to break down, with one elderly woman saying, "we want our children and brothers, kill us with them and get it over with."

Standing in front of the coffins of the victims, Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II comforted mourners and chastised those responsible for the bombing.

"Do not believe that you have achieved anything," he said.

"The pain you caused to all our hearts, to the hearts of Egypt, to the heart of every human in the entire world, this pain will be set upon you and it will fill you. You will live in destruction.

"You will see that what your blood-stained hands have done will reflect on you."

The emotional speech was dotted with ululations, more traditionally heard at weddings, performed on this occasion to celebrate the ascension of martyrs to heaven.

Cardboard placards bearing the names of those who died lined the wooden walls of the church.

Screams and wailing were heard throughout the Pope's talk and as the coffins were taken to the funeral procession to be led by el-Sisi.

On Sunday, el-Sisi condemned the attack and declared a three-day period of national mourning.

The Grand Mufti, the highest official of religious law in Egypt, also condemned the "deplorable terrorist attack" on the cathedral.

"Attacking churches whether by demolition, bombing, killing those inside, or terrifying ... secure people are prohibited in Islamic Sharia," Sheikh Shawky Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam said.

He called for unity against "black terrorism that tries to instigate sectarianism and sedition among the two wings of Egypt -- Muslims and Christians -- in a bid to weaken the nation."

The Grand Mufti and Pope Francis also extended their condolences to Pope Tawadros ll of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the cathedral Sunday to voice their anger at police and some pro-government television anchors, according to state-run Al-Ahram.

They called for the resignation of the interior minister, Magdy Abdel Ghaffar.

Protesters chanted: "This time won't pass, even if we all die. ... This is not sectarian strife, let's get the world to hear."

Hassm, the group that claimed the deadliest bomb on Friday, condemned Sunday's attack and blamed the government for it. Responding to the criticism, el-Sisi said his government is doing everything it is required to do to keep people safe.

"You don't know the size of the success we achieved even in fighting terrorism," el-Sisi said Monday. "Don't say this is a security flaw."

No one has claimed responsibility for this bombing, the deadliest attack on Copts since 2011.

Copts face persecution and discrimination that has spiked since the toppling of Hosni Mubarak's regime in 2011. Dozens have been killed in sectarian clashes. There is also little Christian representation in Egypt's government.

Coptic Christians make up about 10% percent of Egypt's 91 million residents. They base their theology on the teachings of the Apostle Mark, who introduced Christianity to Egypt, according to St. Takla Church in Alexandria, the capital of Coptic Christianity. </s> The sun rises over the Pentagon on Sunday prior to a morning ceremony to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. The Pentagon Memorial commemorates the 184 lives lost at the Pentagon and onboard American Airlines Flight 77 that day.

A firefighter rings a bell as family members, emergency workers and others attend a commemoration ceremony for the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum on Sunday in New York City.

An American flag stands among names on the 9/11 memorial before the start of the 15th anniversary memorial service to 9/11 victims in New York.

A woman hugs a man during a commemoration ceremony for the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York.

A group of motorcycle riders look over the north memorial pool Sunday during services marking the 15th anniversary of September 11 at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York.

A man honors a lost loved one at a commemoration ceremony for the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.

A girl cries while reading the names of the victims during a ceremony Sunday marking the 15th anniversary of September 11 attacks at the National 9/11 Memorial in New York.

An Army service member salutes during the a ceremony remembering the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

Family members embrace Sunday during the 15th-anniversary service at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

US military personnel attend a memorial ceremony on the 15th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks at the International Security Assistance Force headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Attendees hold photographs of loved ones lost in the September 11 terrorist attacks at a commemoration ceremony Sunday at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York.

United Airlines flight attendants Clarice Rinker and Janeen Brown embrace by the Wall of Names at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on the 15th anniversary of the terror attacks. Their fellow flight attendants and pilots were killed when Flight 93 crashed in a field near Shanksville.

Military personnel salute during a ceremony Sunday to mark the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks at the Pentagon Memorial in Washington, DC. </s> Cairo (CNN) Four people have been arrested in connection with the Sunday bombing of a Coptic Orthodox cathedral in Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi told state television Monday.

The suicide bomber was 22-year-old Mahmoud Shafiq Mohamed Mostafa, who entered the church wearing an explosive belt, Sisi said, adding that authorities are searching for more suspects in the attack, which left 23 people dead and 49 others injured.

Meanwhile, mourners took to the streets to pay their respects to those who died in the bombing of the small church of St. Peter and St. Paul, which is attached to St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the city's Abbassiya district.

Egyptian mourners took to the streets in Cairo Monday.

The funeral procession for the victims was held Monday at the Church of the Virgin Mary in Nasr City and was followed by a state funeral at the Unknown Soldier Memorial.

"This strike hurt us," el-Sisi said at the state funeral. "It caused us a lot of pain, but it will never break us."

Crowds lined the streets outside the church, with some trying to reach the ambulances carrying the coffins and the procession.

There were light skirmishes between mourners and security forces as police refused to let the crowds through to the funeral procession.

One woman cried at police, "You let people enter the church with a bomb but you won't let us in?"

People began to break down, with one elderly woman saying, "we want our children and brothers, kill us with them and get it over with."

Standing in front of the coffins of the victims, Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II comforted mourners and chastised those responsible for the bombing.

"Do not believe that you have achieved anything," he said.

"The pain you caused to all our hearts, to the hearts of Egypt, to the heart of every human in the entire world, this pain will be set upon you and it will fill you. You will live in destruction.

"You will see that what your blood-stained hands have done will reflect on you."

The emotional speech was dotted with ululations, more traditionally heard at weddings, performed on this occasion to celebrate the ascension of martyrs to heaven.

Cardboard placards bearing the names of those who died lined the wooden walls of the church.

Screams and wailing were heard throughout the Pope's talk and as the coffins were taken to the funeral procession to be led by Sisi.

On Sunday, Sisi condemned the attack and declared a three-day period of national mourning.

The Grand Mufti, the highest official of religious law in Egypt, also condemned the "deplorable terrorist attack" on the cathedral.

"Attacking churches whether by demolition, bombing, killing those inside, or terrifying ... secure people are prohibited in Islamic Sharia," Sheikh Shawky Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam said.

He called for unity against "black terrorism that tries to instigate sectarianism and sedition among the two wings of Egypt -- Muslims and Christians -- in a bid to weaken the nation."

The Grand Mufti and Pope Francis also extended their condolences to Pope Tawadros ll of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the cathedral Sunday to voice their anger at police and some pro-government television anchors, according to state-run Al-Ahram.

They called for the resignation of the interior minister, Magdy Abdel Ghaffar.

Protesters chanted: "This time won't pass, even if we all die. ... This is not sectarian strife, let's get the world to hear."

The group that claimed the deadliest bomb on Friday, Hassm, condemned Sunday's attack and blamed the government for it.

No one has claimed responsibility for this bombing, the deadliest attack on Copts since 2011.

Copts face persecution and discrimination that has spiked since the toppling of Hosni Mubarak's regime in 2011. Dozens have been killed in sectarian clashes. There is also little Christian representation in Egypt's government.

Coptic Christians make up about 10% percent of Egypt's 91 million residents. They base their theology on the teachings of the Apostle Mark, who introduced Christianity to Egypt, according to St. Takla Church in Alexandria, the capital of Coptic Christianity. </s> More than 100 injured at funeral attended by high-ranking Afghan officials just days after deadly truck bomb in capital

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

At least seven people have been killed and more than 119 wounded in three separate explosions at a high-profile funeral in Kabul, the third attack in four days in the Afghan capital.

Why deadly Kabul bombing is crisis for all of Afghanistan | Emma Graham-Harrison Read more

The funeral was for one of several protesters killed on Friday at a large demonstration calling for the resignation of the government after a large truck bomb killed nearly 100 people on Wednesday.

The ministry of public health said seven people had been killed on Saturday, while Reuters reported up to 12 dead. Wahid Mujro, a ministry spokesman, said 119 people had been injured. Numbers were likely to rise, given the density of the crowd of more than a thousand people.

The funeral for Salem Izidyar, the son of the senate deputy speaker, was attended by many high-ranking current and former officials, including the country’s chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah. According to his office, Abdullah was not hurt in the explosions.

After the blasts, Abdullah drove to Izidyar’s grave and participated in the burial, said his spokesman, Mujib Rahman Rahimi. On returning to his residence, Abdullah spoke on national television.

Lotfullah Najafizada (@LNajafizada) Dr Abdullah, who survived today's funeral blasts, appears live from his home in Kabul. pic.twitter.com/k8qxQeCcPd

The first blast, which some attendees said came from an improvised explosive device, went off during the pre-burial prayer. It was followed by two more, when a pair of suicide bombers detonated their explosives.

Toryalai Shufaee, an aide to Zubair Massoud, the son of the former vice-president Ahmad Zia Massoud, who was at the funeral, said: “When I woke up, I saw dust everywhere and dead bodies, bodies that had been burned.”

Other prominent politicians at the ceremony included the foreign minister, Salahuddin Rabbani, and the former intelligence chief Amrullah Saleh. All escaped without serious injuries.

Footage of the explosions showed the consecutive blasts sending people running in all directions.

1TVNewsAF (@1TVNewsAF) ویدیوی صحنه انفجار در مراسم خاکسپاری سالم ایزدیار در کابل

‌blast footage at Kabul funeral pic.twitter.com/BkDCRNrEiW

Speaking to local media, Saleh criticised the government for failing to protect such a high-level gathering and called on the president, Ashraf Ghani, to review his security cabinet.

The suicide bombers reportedly posed as mourners in the crowd.

But Rahimi said “you cannot search everyone” with gatherings involving such large numbers.

The truck bombing in Kabul’s diplomatic quarter, one the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan since 2001, has left the streets of the capital tense and the foreign community anxious. On Friday, the German embassy evacuated from the country all its staff, except the ambassador and military attache.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the funeral bombs, but Izidyar’s father, Mohammad Alam Izidyar, is a prominent member of the anti-Taliban Jamiat-e Islami party. </s> Majlis (Iran’s Parliament), which came under a terror attack recently, is hosting a funeral ceremony for the victims of the incident, and another concomitant one, which targeted Imam Khomeini’s Mausoleum.

The Friday event was attended by the heads of Iran’s Executive, Legislative and Judiciary Branches, President Hassan Rouhani, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, and Judiciary Chief Sadeq Amoli-Larijani respectively.

Also joining the ceremony were government ministers, and Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammadi-Golpayegani, the head of the office of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

People take part in a funeral ceremony held in northeastern Iranian city of Bojnord on June 9, 2017 for the victims of a terrorist attack in Tehran. (Photo by IRNA)

Others included foreign ambassadors, and survivors of the Wednesday attacks, who were holding up pictures of the victims.

Addressing the ceremony, the parliament chief said, “Today is a hard day for the Iranian nation. Farewell to dear ones, who were sadly martyred.”

“The terrorists fell short of their [main] aim” and then started to blindly target civilians and employees, he said.

From left to right, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (4th) stands next to Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani and Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani during a funeral held in parliament, June 9, 2017. (Photo by IRNA)

Their targeting the locations, Larijani said, indicated their concentration on the “axes of the Iranian people’s religious democracy.”

Ayatollah Mohammadi-Golpayegani also delivered the Leader’s message of condolences to the event.

Read more:

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, the Iranian president said the terror assaults “were an act of revenge against democracy,” adding that “whenever the nation scores a victory, ill-wishers work to deliver a blow to the country and the nation.”

He was referring to the big turnout of Iranians in the May 19 presidential elections.

Rouhani added that it is not the first time the nation witnesses such acts of terror, stressing that “people will find their own path to national goals and unity, and the nation will undoubtedly emerge victorious.”

A funeral procession also started for the victims after the Friday Prayers in the capital.

Large groups of people are taking part in the ceremony, chanting slogans against Saudi Arabia, the US and Israel, whom they blame for supporting terrorism.

At least 17 people were killed and more than 50 injured in Tehran on Wednesday, when gunmen attacked Iran’s Parliament (Majlis) and the Mausoleum of the late Founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini.

Read more:

The Daesh Takfiri terrorist group claimed responsibility for the near-simultaneous assaults.

On Thursday, the Iranian Intelligence Ministry released the names of the five terrorists who were killed after carrying out the deadly attacks in Tehran.

Local police in Iran’s western province of Kermanshah also said two people have been arrested in connection with the double attacks, while over 90 handguns have been discovered during a security operation in Ravansar County, the Tasnim news agency reported. </s> CAIRO — President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said Monday that a suicide bomber was responsible for an attack that killed 24 worshipers at Cairo's Coptic cathedral complex during Sunday Mass as outrage grew among Egypt's Christian minority.

Speaking to hundreds of mourners at a state funeral, Sissi said that the bomber wore a vest packed with explosives and that four people suspected of aiding him had been arrested. Security forces were looking for two people with possible links to the attack, he said.

The country's interior ministry described the alleged bomber as a 22-year-old man from the town of Fayoum, 60 miles south of the capital, Cairo. It also released a picture of what it said was the bomber's head.

At least 49 people were wounded in the explosion at the Botrosiya Church, which is also known as the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. The church is adjacent to St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, the seat of the Coptic Pope Tawadros II.

The attack was the deadliest on Christians since a suicide bomber killed 23 congregants at a church in Alexandria on Jan. 1, 2011.

Health Ministry officials lowered the death toll by one, to 24, suggesting that the bomber had initially been counted among the victims. Many of the dead were women and children.

No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, and Sissi did not name any suspected organizations as being involved. But the attack bore the hallmarks of Islamic extremists, including Egypt's Islamic State affiliate, who have been behind numerous attacks on soldiers, policemen and government officials, as well as Christians, across the country this year.

"The attack brought us great pain, but we will never be torn apart," Sissi told the mourners. "God willing, we will win this war."

Sissi, along with Pope Tawadros, led a procession in which soldiers carried the coffins, draped in the national flag, to the state funeral. Earlier, a service was held at the Virgin Mary and St. Athanasius Church in Cairo.

After praying over the coffins, Pope Tawadros sought to defuse the mounting anger among Christians, who make up 10 percent of the population. The community has long felt discriminated against by the country's Muslims, and successive authoritarian governments.

Attacks against Christians have spiked since the 2011 populist revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak, and especially after the military overthrew an elected Islamist government in 2013.

After the bombing Sunday, a crowd of Christians outside the cathedral angrily denounced the police and the government for not protecting them.

"This calamity is not against the church but against the homeland, against all of Egypt," Pope Tawadros told the mourners. "Those who commit acts such as this do not belong to Egypt at all, even if they are on its land."

On Monday, Sissi called for stricter anti-terrorism laws but dismissed public accusations that Egypt's security forces had not adequately protected the church.

Human rights activists urged the government to conduct a proper investigation of the bombing and to protect the Christian community as the holiday season approaches.

"Egypt's government needs to ensure immediate protection for the Coptic community, especially during the upcoming Christmas holiday," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "The victims deserve a credible, transparent investigation that brings the perpetrators to justice and is crucial for ending such attacks." </s> Thirteen civilians and one police officer died, with 36 people wounded, said Ministry of Interior spokesman Sediq Sediqqi.

Ministry of Public Health officials said at least 43 people had been injured in the incident and had been taken to hospitals in the city for treatment.

The attack began just before 8 p.m. (3:30 p.m. GMT), police said, with witnesses reporting an explosion followed by gunfire.

Initial reports put the number of attackers at three, but Sediqqi said police special forces who responded to the scene found and killed only one gunman.

Security forces at the scene had evacuated the shrine as the attack unfolded, said Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi.

The attack occurred at one of Kabul's largest shrines as Shi'ite Muslims had gathered to observe the Ashura holy day, which commemorates the 7th Century death of a grandson of the prophet Mohammed.

The attacker was dressed in a police or military uniform, according to a police official. </s> At least one person died and several officers were injured in the attack, which came a day after bombs went off in churches across the city, killing at least 13 people. Officials said details of the victims were still unclear, and no-one has claimed responsibility. Some reports said civilians had also been caught in the blasts.

Latest police reports indicate that the attack involved an entire family, including an eight-year-old child. They drew up at a checkpoint at police HQ on two mopeds before detonating their devices. The child survived the attack with only minor injuries.

On Sunday three churches were targeted, say police, who are blaming the members of a single radicalised family that allegedly went to Syria.

Indonesia's Chief Security minister says the army and police will be stepping up security , and Indonesia's president said the attacks were acts of "cowards", and he would force a new anti-terror law through parliament if necessary.
Thousands of people along with officials attend funerals held for victims of the attacks.