BAGHDAD, IRAQ – JANUARY 3, 2020 At the beginning of 2020, the Middle East lost two of the most influential military figures associated with Iran. The first was Qassem Soleimani, a 62-year-old Iranian general and commander of the elite Quds Force, which is part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The second was Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a 65-year-old Iraqi commander of the Kata’ib Hezbollah militia and deputy commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces. Both were considered key allies of Iran and played a significant role in its military and political influence in the region.
Qassem Soleimani & Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis
On the night of January 3, 2020, they were traveling together in a convoy after leaving Baghdad International Airport. Their vehicles became the target of a deliberate U.S. drone strike. Missiles hit the convoy, and both commanders, along with several others, were killed at the scene. The operation was ordered by then-U.S. President Donald Trump. The strike immediately raised fears of a broader conflict between the United States and Iran.
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- Their funeral 1
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- Their funeral 2
The United States stated that the purpose of the strike was to prevent planned attacks against American citizens and military personnel in the region. The United States Department of Defense described the operation as a defensive action and accused Soleimani of organizing and approving attacks against U.S. forces. The U.S. administration also linked Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis to Kata’ib Hezbollah, which it blamed for the rocket attack on a military base near Kirkuk that had shortly before killed an American civilian contractor, as well as for the subsequent attack by protesters on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Iran and its allies, on the other hand, described the strike as an unlawful assassination and a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.
MORE PHOTOS OF SOLEIMANI:
MORE PHOTOS OF AL-MUHANDIS:
READ MORE:
https://www.axios.com/2020/01/03/qasem-soleimani-killed-iran-baghdad
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Mahdi_al-Muhandis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qasem_Soleimani
