President Donald Trump ordered an airstrike at Baghdad International Airport that killed Qasem Soleimani, a key Iranian military commander, in a "decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad" that was intended to deter "future Iranian attack plans," the Pentagon confirmed. Soleimani -- the head 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 early Friday morning local time, according to a statement from the PMF, which said the pair "were martyred by an American strike."
Here are some reactions to the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, in a U.S. air strike on his convoy at Baghdad airport:
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