US attack kills Iranian general in Baghdad
Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran's Quds Force, was one of seven killed as part of a convoy near Baghdad airport.
Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis have been killed in a US air strike on their convoy at Baghdad airport.
“The American and Israeli enemy is responsible for killing the mujahideen Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Qassem Soleimani,” said Ahmed al-Assadi, a spokesman for Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces umbrella grouping of Iran-backed militias.
Strikes had been carried out against two targets linked to Iran in Baghdad on Thursday, US officials told Reuters.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to give any further details.
#BREAKING: Senior Iranian commander Qasim Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis killed in air strike on convoy in Baghdad airport -Iraqi state TV https://t.co/uKeEyKeg5H pic.twitter.com/nCy2euf5zj
— Arab News (@arabnews) January 3, 2020
Iraqi paramilitary groups said on Friday that three rockets hit Baghdad International Airport, killing five members of Iraqi paramilitary groups and two “guests”.
The rockets landed near the air cargo terminal, burning two vehicles, killing and injuring several people.
Major-General Soleimani, who has led the foreign arm of the Revolutionary Guards and has had a key role in fighting in Syria and Iraq, acquired celebrity status at home and abroad.
He was instrumental in the spread of Iranian influence in the Middle East, which the United States and Tehran’s regional foes Saudi Arabia and Israel have struggled to keep in check.
He survived several assassination attempts against him by Western, Israeli and Arab agencies over the past two decades.
#Iraq: Rockets fired at Baghdad airport. Iraqi state TV says top Iran commander Qasem Soleimani killed in #Baghdad attack: U.S. carried out strikes against two targets linked to Iran in Baghdad, U.S. officials tell @Reuters#Baghdadattack pic.twitter.com/XYhP6GTUoC
— Brijesh K N Tiwari (@brijeshkntiwari) January 3, 2020
Major-General Soleimani’s Quds Force, tasked with carrying out operations beyond Iran’s borders, shored up support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad when he looked close to defeat in the civil war raging since 2011 and also helped militiamen defeat Islamic State in Iraq.
Major-General Soleimani became head of the Quds Force in 1998, a position in which he kept a low profile for years while he strengthened Iran’s ties with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government and Shi’ite militia groups in Iraq.
-AAP
