Thousands of mourners have attended a funeral procession for Iran's top general, Qassem Suleimani, in Baghdad. His body, along with others killed in a US drone strike on Friday, were taken on a procession through the Iraqi capital before a public farewell in Tehran on Sunday. Marchers, many of them in tears, chanted 'death to America, death to Israel'
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Qassem Suleimani: chants of ‘death to America’ at Baghdad funeral
Thousands of mourners attend funeral procession for Iranian general killed in US airstrike
Thousands of mourners have marched in a funeral procession through Baghdad for Iran’s top general and Iraqi militant leaders, who were killed in a US airstrike, chanting: “Death to America.”
The bodies of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani and others killed in a US drone strike were taken on a funeral procession starting in Baghdad on Saturday before a public farewell for the slain military leader in Tehran on Sunday, according to officials in Iran.
Continue reading...Donald Trump says US will take ‘whatever action is necessary’ against Iran – video
Donald Trump said the USA was prepared to take 'whatever action is necessary' if Iran targeted US citizens in response to the killing of its top general, Qassam Suleimani. Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump said Suleimani was responsible for 'acts of terror' that had destabilised the Middle East, but said that he was not seeking regime change in Iran
Continue reading...Iran crisis: Republicans hail death of ‘master terrorist’ as Democrats question Trump strategy – live
World reacts to news of US drone strike ordered by Donald Trump on Iranian general Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad
- Analysis: death threatens to open grisly new chapter in Middle East
- A visual guide to the US airstrike that killed Qassem Suleimani
- US citizens in Iraq: tell us about your situation
Defense officials told the AP that nearly 3,000 more troops from the 82nd Airborne Division would be deployed to the Middle East amid fears of reprisals against the US for the killing of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani.
The AP reports:
The United States is sending nearly 3,000 more Army troops to the Mideast as reinforcements in the volatile aftermath of the killing of an Iranian general in a strike ordered by President Donald Trump, defense officials said Friday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a decision not yet announced by the Pentagon, said the troops are from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. They are in addition to about 700 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne who deployed to Kuwait earlier this week after the storming of the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad by Iran-backed militiamen and their supporters.
The commander of the Quds force, which was previously run by the late general Qassem Suleimani, advised Iranians to “be patient” following the US drone strike and witness the deaths of Americans across the Middle East.
Breaking News: @AJABreaking News alert: Al Quds Force Commander Ismail Qaani: we say be patient, soon you will witness the bodies of Americans in all of the Middle East https://t.co/88y3cgW5XV
Continue reading...Protests and prayers after the killing of Qassem Suleimani – in pictures
Iran has vowed revenge for a US airstrike at Baghdad international airport that killed Gen Qassem Suleimani, the head of the elite Quds force and architect of Iran’s spreading military influence in the Middle East
Continue reading...‘Down with USA’: protests sweep Iran after assassination of Qassem Suleimani – video
Thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets after a US airstrike killed Qassem Suleimani, the country's most powerful military chief. Protesters burned American flags and chanted 'Down with the USA'. Iran has declared three days of national mourning and vowed 'severe revenge' for Suleimani's death
- US and allies on high alert as Iran threatens retaliation
- US kills Iran general Qassem Suleimani in strike ordered by Trump
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis: Iraqi killed in US strike was key militia figure
Man who died alongside Suleimani was important Shia leader in post-Saddam era
A few days before his assassination in an American drone strike, Jamal Jafaar Mohammed Ali Ebrahimi – known more widely by his nom de guerre of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis – addressed a crowd of his supporters in Iraq.
“The US ambassador, the Americans and their intelligence agencies must not think that they can sustain their control over their bases in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon,” he said, in the aftermath of US strikes that had killed two dozen members of the militia he founded.
Continue reading...Footage shows aftermath of US airstrike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Suleimani – video
The White House said Donald Trump ordered an airstrike that killed the powerful Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The attack came amid Iranian tensions with the US after thousands of Iraqis stormed the US embassy compound in Baghdad this week. The killing of Suleimani presents a dramatic escalation of an already bloody struggle between Washington and Tehran for influence across the region
- Iran general Qassem Suleimani killed in Baghdad drone strike ordered by Trump
- US citizens in Iraq: please tell us about your situation
Who is Qassem Suleimani? Iran farm boy who became more powerful than a president
Quds leader was extraordinarily successful in reshaping the region in wake of Iraq war and Syrian revolution
US drone strikes in Baghdad on Friday morning have killed not just one of the most influential men in Iran but also in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, too.
Qassem Suleimani had become well known among Iranians in past years and was sometimes discussed as a future president. Yet the leader of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds force was still a relatively obscure figure outside a region that he may have done more than anyone to reshape.
Continue reading...Baghdad airport attack: senior Iran-aligned militia official killed amid US tensions
Rocket or drone attack on motorcade kills senior figure linked to embassy siege as well as ‘guests’ believed to be Iranians
A top official of an Iraqi Shia militia organisation has been reported killed in a motorcade outside Baghdad airport, raising the stakes in an already tense standoff between the US and pro-Iranian forces in Iraq’s capital.
The Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) announced that its head of public relations and protocol, Mohammed Ridha, was killed in a vehicle as he was escorting “guests” from the airport. Some reports said the attack was carried out by a drone, others that it was a volley of rockets.
Continue reading...US troops deployed to Middle East after Baghdad embassy siege
Up to 3,000 soldiers to be sent in as pro-Iran militants leave US embassy in Iraqi capital
Iranian-backed militants have ended a day-long siege of the American embassy in Baghdad following an order from their militia organisation, but the struggle between the US and Iran for influence in Iraq looked set to intensify further in 2020.
The US defence secretary, Mark Esper, announced that 750 airborne troops would be deployed to the region immediately, with more to follow in the next few days. Up to 3,000 soldiers are reportedly being prepared to move out to the Middle East, adding to the 14,000 sent there since May in an effort to counter Iran.
Continue reading...Iraq riots expose an America weaker and with fewer options
Mobbing of US embassy after US strikes on state-sanctioned militia show America’s plan of maximum pressure only added to chaos
The mobbing of a US embassy has historically served as an emblem of America in decline, so the scenes around the embattled mission in Baghdad are a fitting end to the decade.
Related: Trump accuses Iran over storming of US embassy compound in Baghdad
Continue reading...Embassy protesters in Iraq deal symbolic blow to US prestige
Washington humiliated as hundreds storm American compound chanting slogans in support of pro-Iranian militias
Protesters in Iraq have dealt a symbolic blow to US prestige after they stormed the American embassy compound in Baghdad, trapping diplomats inside while chanting “death to America” and slogans in support of pro-Iranian militias.
In a humiliating day for Washington, hundreds of supporters of Iraqi Shia militia, many wearing military fatigues, besieged the US compound, at one point breaching the main gate and smashing their way into several reception rooms. They lit fires, battered down doors, and threw bricks at bulletproof glass.
Continue reading...Iraqi militia supporters storm US embassy in Baghdad – video report
Donald Trump has accused Iran of orchestrating an attack on the US embassy in Baghdad after dozens of Iraqi Shia militia supporters broke into its compound. Video from the scene shows protesters climbing over the wall of the embassy and setting fires
Continue reading...Aftermath of US airstrike on Kata’ib Hezbollah militia in Iraq – video
The US military carried out airstrikes on Sunday against the Iranian-backed Kata'ib Hezbollah militia in response to the killing of an American civilian contractor in a rocket attack on a US military base in Iraq. An Iraqi militia leader warned of a strong response after airstrikes in Iraq and Syria killed at least 25 people overnight. This footage shows the aftermath of a strike on Kata'ib Hezbollah's headquarters in the Iraqi town of Qaim
Continue reading...US military carries out ‘defensive strikes’ in Iraq and Syria
Offensive on Kata’ib Hezbollah sites comes after rocket attack on Iraqi military base blamed on militia group
The US military has carried out what the Pentagon described as “defensive strikes” in Iraq and Syria against the Kata’ib Hezbollah militia group, two days after a US civilian contractor was killed in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base.
The Pentagon said it targeted three locations of the Iranian-backed Shia Muslim militia group in Iraq and two in Syria. The sites included weapons storage facilities and command and control locations Kata’ib Hezbollah had used to plan and execute attacks on coalition forces.
Continue reading...US isolationism leaves Middle East on edge as new decade dawns
With Trump deciding against protecting allies, old rivalries are converging across the region
Throughout the Middle East’s modern history, a constant remained – the US held a prominent stake and would throw its weight around to protect its interests and allies. The maxim held true as ideologies rose and fell, Gulf monarchies, Israel, and Arab nationalist police states took root – and war and insurrection periodically raged.
But it ended during Donald Trump’s third year, a time when an isolationist, unworldly president began to see regional interests through a much narrower lens. The effect has been profound and 2020 will continue the process of recalibration by traditional friends of the US without a country whose clout they used to defer to and whose agenda they could more or less understand.
Continue reading...Defiant protesters back in Baghdad square within an hour of slaughter
Demonstrators grow ever more determined to force real political change in Iraq despite a bloody crackdown which left over 20 dead
The gunshots emptied protesters from Baghdad’s Khilani square in minutes, but as nearby streets filled with the crush of people running for their lives, two men stayed on, waving a vast Shia banner in defiance of the bloodshed around them.
The pair must have known they were in the gunmen’s crosshairs, and soon one of them crumpled, hit by a bullet. But their determination to continue was a powerful message to authorities and militias trying to crush Iraq’s popular uprising by force.
Continue reading...Over a dozen killed in Baghdad when gunmen open fire on protesters
Attack follows mass stabbings in Tahrir Square, a focus of the anti-government movement
At least 14 people were killed and more than 40 others wounded when gunmen in cars opened fire on a protest camp in Baghdad, sending people running for cover in nearby mosques. Three of the victims were police officers.
The attacks on Friday came a day after a string of suspicious stabbing incidents left at least 13 wounded in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, the centre of Iraq’s leaderless protest movement.
Continue reading...Iraq risks breakup as tribes take on Iran’s militias in ‘blood feud’
Unrest spreads after security forces fire on protesters and anger at Tehran’s influence increases
Iraq’s parliament will today begin the process of electing a new leader after the prime minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, resigned last week. His successor will have to cope with the severe unrest that is spreading across the country and which has pitched security forces against demonstrators for nearly two months. Fears are mounting that the country could unravel altogether.
Security forces killed at least 45 civilians who were protesting around the southern city of Nasiriyah on Thursday in one of the worst incidents in the recent outbreak of anti-government protests. The government’s actions were intended to be a show of brute force following the firebombing of the Iranian consulate in Najaf on Wednesday, an attack that was the strongest expression yet of the anti-Iranian sentiment by the Iraqi demonstrators.
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