Baghdad International Airport - Latest News Update, Information, Photos & Videos on Baghdad International Airport at Lokmat Times

In a statement, the IRGC said that Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of the Hashd Shaabi or the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), was also killed along with Soleimani in the strikes that targeted their vehicle on the Baghdad International Airport road, the Tehran-based Press TV reported.The PMF has also confirmed the incident."The deputy head of the Hashd, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and head of the Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, were killed in a US strike that targeted their car," it said in a statement on Friday.The group had earlier said that its public relations director Mohammed Reza al-Jaberi and four other members were also killed after three Katyusha rockets struck a military base next to the Baghdad airport earlier on Friday.The PMF described the attack as a "cowardly US bombing".Meanwhile, the Pentagon said that Soleimani was killed "at the direction of the President"."At the direction of the President, the US military has taken decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani," the BBC quoted a Pentagon statement as saying."This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans. The US will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world."The strike comes days after protesters surrounded the US embassy in Baghdad, clashing with American forces at the scene.US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said late on Thursday that Washington would not accept attacks against its personnel in the region, blaming Iran for the violence at the embassy.Since 1998, Maj Gen Soleimani has led Iran's Quds Force - the IRGC's elite unit which handles clandestine operations abroad, said the BBC.In that position Gen Soleimani played a key role bolstering Bashar al-Assad's Iranian-supported government in the Syrian Civil War, and in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq.He was a hugely significant figure in the Iranian regime. His Quds Force reported directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.He first came to prominence in his country serving in the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.( With inputs from IANS )

Baghdad International AirportFOLLOW

Baghdad international airport, Latest News

The United States on Sunday mocked Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei for declaring three days of mourning after the recent killing of Qasem Soleim, chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) Quds Force, in an ai ...

A huge crowd of mourners gathered in Iraq's capital Baghdad on Saturday to participate in a funeral procession for the Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike ordered by President Donald Trump. ...

The US-led coalition and the Iraqi military on Saturday denied any fresh airstrike north of Baghdad, after it was reported that a convoy of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) or the Hashd Shaabi was attacked. ...

The US will deploy some 3,500 more troops to the Middle East as early as this weekend following the death of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani in an attack ordered by President Donald Trump, it was reported. ...

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Friday vowed "tough revenge" on the US after an attack ordered by American President Donald Trump killed Gen Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) eli ...

Gen Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) elite Quds Force, was killed in a US attack ordered by President Donald Trump, the Pentagon said in a statement. ...

Gen Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) elite Quds Force, has been killed in US airstrikes in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the IRGC confirmed on Friday. ...