The Pentagon confirmed Thursday night that the US is responsible for killing Qasem Soleimani, commander of the IRGC Quds Force, in an airstrike inside Baghdad International Airport, along with Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces spokesperson claimed that Israel and the US are behind the attack. “At the direction of the President, the US military has taken decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, a US-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization,” the Pentagon’s statement reads. “General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region,” the statement continues. “General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more.” According to the statement, Soleimani had orchestrated attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the last several months – “including the attack on December 27th – culminating in the death and wounding of additional American and Iraqi personnel.” “General Soleimani also approved the attacks on the US Embassy in Baghdad that took place this week,” the Pentagon added. “This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans. The United States will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world.” Iraq’s Security Media Cell announced late Thursday night that three katyusha rockets had targeted Baghdad Airport.
The militia members were hosting “important guests” at Baghdad airport who were being driven in two militia vehicles that were struck by two rockets, said the militia sources.
Two militia sources said the two guests were also killed in the attack but declined to identify them. It is assumed that Soleimani was one of them, while Hezbollah deputy leader Naem Qasm was the other. There have been no official confirmations of either report, however.
Police and health sources said that at least five people were killed and nine wounded. Iraqi state media reported that Soleimani and al-Muhandis, the deputy head of the PMF, were both killed in the attack. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) later confirmed that Soleimani was killed, saying that “honored supreme commander of Islam Soleimani was martyred.”
Shi’ite PMF said in a post on Facebook that its director of public relations was killed in what it described as “cowardly U.S. bombing.” Iraqi PMF spokesman Ahmed al-Assadi blamed “Americans and Israelis” for being behind the attack. “The American and Israeli enemy is responsible for killing the mujahideen Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Qassem Soleimani,” said Assadi.
US President Donald Trump tweeted a photo of the American flag with no caption when the report was confirmed of the US airstrike.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2020
Former IRGC chief Mohsen Rezaee tweeted in response to the attack that “vigorous revenge against America” will be pursued following the death of Suleimani. Supporters of Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary groups stormed the US Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday following US air raids on Sunday against Kataib Hezbollah militia bases in retaliation for missile attacks that killed a US contractor in northern Iraq last week. Tension between the United States and Iran has ramped up in the region over US economic sanctions hurting the Iranian economy. The two sides have traded blame over attacks on oil installations, militia arms depots as well as military bases hosting US forces. Currently pending DNA results have a “high probability” of identifying the two men as the targets, Newsweek reported. 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. 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. 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. Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.
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