Baghdad (Iraq) 3rd January 2020 (GNP) : Commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), were killed in US airstrikes in the Iraqi capital Baghdad early on Friday.
The Pentagon said US President Donald Trump ordered the killing of Soleimani. Following his death, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed “severe revenge” for Soleimani’s death.
“Martyrdom was the reward for his ceaseless efforts in all these years,” Khamenei said on his Twitter account in reference to Soleimani, also announcing a three day mourning. “With him gone, God willing, his work and his path will not be stopped, but severe revenge awaits the criminals who bloodied their foul hands with his blood and other martyrs’ in last night’s incident,“ he added.
Early on Friday, a shower of missiles had hit Baghdad’s international airport, targeting a convoy of the Hashed al-Shaabi, an Iraqi paramilitary force.
Iranian President Hassan Rohani also showed strong condemnation of the assassination saying “Soleimani’s martyrdom will make Iran more decisive to resist America’s expansionism and to defend our Islamic values. With no doubt, Iran and other freedom-seeking countries in the region will take his revenge”.
Iraq, Syria and Lebanon’s Hezbollah also condemn the airstrikes targeting Soleimani and Abu Mahdi. US Democratic congressional leaders also condemned President Donald Trump’s order of strikes that killed Soleimani, saying the president did not obtain the congressional approval. A top Democrat, Adam Schiff, took to Twitter stating “American people don’t want a war with Iran”. (GNP)