Iranian General, Soleimani, killed in ‘defensive action,’ U.S says

Friday, January 3, 2020 7:47 am

General Soleimani: Credit Daily Mail

The Head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, the elite Quds Force, General Qassem Soleimani, has been killed in an airstrike ordered by the U. S President Donald Trump at Baghdad International Airport, the Pentagon confirmed.

Also killed in the air strike was Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq known as .

U.S officials said the Popular Mobilization Forces were responsible for the recent attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, officials said.

The U.S. killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a “defensive action,” the Pentagon said in a statement issued early Friday morning.

“At the direction of the President, the U.S. military has taken decisive defensive action to protect U.S. personnel abroad by killing Qassem Soleimani,” the Pentagon statement says.

The Pentagon says Soleimani was “actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”

“General Soleimani also approved the attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad that took place this week,” the statement continues.

The U.S. also held Soleimani and his Quds Force responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and said he “orchestrated” a rocket attack on Dec. 27, which killed an American.