Late Gen. Qasem Soleiman.
The battle for supremacy between the United States of America and Iran has taken an alarming turn as two rockets have been fired near the US embassy in Baghdad after an airstrike authorised by Donald Trump killed Iran’s top general, Qasem Soleiman.
Security sources confirmed that ‘two missiles’ hit Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign missions. Another rocket attack reportedly targeted the Balad air base which is hosting US troops in Iraq, Reuters reported. No casualties were immediately reported at the base, which is located 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Baghdad. Reports of the rocket attacks come after a US airstrike killed Iraqi militia leaders and Iran’s top general Qassem Soleimani, who headed Iran’s elite Quds Force. Donald Trump said the commander was plotting ‘imminent and sinister’ attacks against Americans and said he ‘terminated him’ to end his ‘sickness for killing’.
Iran vowed ‘harsh vengeance’ in return, sparking fears of WWIII. Soleimani was the architect of Iran’s shadow warfare and military expansion in the Middle East and held celebrity status in Iran and elsewhere. Thousands of mourners took to the streets in Iran yesterday, some burning US flags and chanting ‘death to America’. Iraqi military said in a statement after the strikes: ‘Several rockets targeting Celebration Square and the Jadriya area in Baghdad, and the Balad air base in Salahuddin province, with no loss of life.
