A US strike killed top Iranian commander General Qassem Suleimani and the deputy head of Iraq’s Hashd Shaabi military force at Baghdad’s airport early Friday.
“The deputy head of the Hashed, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and head of the Quds Force, General Qassem Suleimani, were martyred in a US strike that targeted their car on the Baghdad International Airport road,” the Hashd, known in English as Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) said in a statement.
The international airport was hit in a volley of missiles just after midnight, Iraq’s military said.
Security sources said the rockets targeted a Hashed convoy and left eight people dead, including important figures.
The Hashed is a paramilitary force that played major role in fighting ISIL terrorists in Iraq alongside Iraqi Army and security forces.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed in a statement read out on state television that the General Suleimani was martyred by US strikein Baghdad on Friday.
“The Revolutionary Guards announces that the glorious commander of Islam, haj Qassem Suleimani, following a life of servitude, was martyred in an attack by America on Baghdad airport this morning,” said the report.
The channel said the attack was carried out by US helicopters.
The video below shows the Iranian TV pronouncing martyrdom of General Suleimani.
Source: Agencies
