Killing of major-general Qassem Soleimani at Baghdad airport ratchets up tensions between the two countries
Qassem Soleimani walks near an armoured vehicle at the frontline during offensive operations against Islamic State militants in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province in this photo taken on March 8 2015. Picture: REUTERS
“At the direction of the president, the US military has taken decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad by killing Qassem Soleimani,” the Pentagon said in a statement.US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Soleimani had been killed in a drone strike. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said he was killed in an attack by American helicopters.Oil prices were up nearly $3 on the news.
President Hassan Rouhani said the assassination would make Iran more decisive in its resistance to the US. Local militia commander Abu Muntathar al-Hussaini told Reuters the two leaders were in a vehicle struck by two missiles as they were on their way out of the airport from its arrivals hall. The second vehicle, carrying bodyguards from the PMF, was hit by one rocket, he said.
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.
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