The Pentagon, on Friday, confirmed the death of the commander of Iran’s Quds Force in a United States air strike ordered by President Donald Trump. The air strike was aimed at “deterring future Iranian attack plans”.
Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force unit, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of the Iran-backed Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), were among those killed in the attack at Baghdad International Airport on January 3rd, as stated by the PMF.
The Iraqi military reported three rockets being fired at the airport, with the total number of casualties remaining unclear. The Pentagon explained that the US had taken “decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad” by targeting Soleimani, the head of what the US describes as a foreign terrorist organization.
“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,” the statement said.
In a statement, the PMF confirmed that the pair “were martyred by an American strike.”
The Pentagon stated that Soleimani was “actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”
Soleimani and his Quds Force were held responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members, and the wounding of thousands more, as per the Pentagon.
The Pentagon also accused Soleimani of orchestrating attacks on coalition bases in Iraq in recent months, including an attack on December 27 that resulted in the deaths of additional American and Iraqi personnel.