On January 3, a US drone attacked a convoy near Baghdad International Airport, killing Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chief of Iraq's paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces.
The rocket attack in Baghdad's Green Zone comes a day after Iran had fired multiple missiles at Iraq airbases housing US troops. The whole of Iraq is on a heightened state of alert as tensions between the US and Iran have dramatically increased over the past few days.
Iran's Press TV has reported that at least 80 people have been killed in Iran missile attacks on US bases in Iraq. However, the Press TV cannot independently verify the reports on the number of casualties.
In a tweet after his conversation with Zarif, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said that the situation in Iran has taken a "very serious turn". He said Javad Zarif agreed to stay in contact with him about further developments.
US Embassy and Air Force base in Iraq were the target of separate rocket attacks just a day after US took down Iran's military commander Qasem Soleimani. Two rocket missiles were fired at the embassy in Baghdad. While US Air Base is located in Balad.
Qasem Soleimani was the architect of Iran’s regional policy of mobilizing militias across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, including in the war against the Islamic State group. He was also blamed for attacks on U.S. troops and American allies going back to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
President Donald Trump said Friday he ordered the killing of a top Iranian general “to stop a war,” not start one, but in the tense aftermath the Pentagon braced for retaliation by sending more troops to the Middle East. Democrats complained that Trump hadn’t consulted Congress, and some worried that the strike made war more likely.
MQ-9 Reaper drone has a laser range finder/designator, which precisely designates targets for employment of laser-guided munitions, such as the Guided Bomb Unit-12 Paveway II. It was this technology that the United States used to attack the convoy of Iran General Qasem Soleimani.
The killing of General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, marks a major escalation in the standoff between Washington and Iran, which has careened from one crisis to another since President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed crippling sanctions.
Soon after the news broke out of Soleimani's death, US President Donald Trump tweeted an American flag, adding fuel to the fire that there was an American hand behind the attack. The speculation was put to rest when Pentagon finally confirmed in a statement that the Iranian General was neutralized at the command of the US President.
The attack came as anti-government demonstrators occupied parts of Jumhuriya, Sinak and Ahar bridges in a standoff with security forces.
The tunnel passes under Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protests where thousands of people are camped out in a giant sit-in that has taken on the feel of a vibrant mini-city.
This is the second such attack in the Iraqi capital in a span of three days. The deadly incident that shook the capital was reported from Tayeran Square.
The US Geological Survey said seven of the quakes struck near the Iraqi city of Mandali and an eighth struck near Mehran in western Iran. All struck within an hour of each other, beginning at 0659 GMT.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi formally announced the victory in an address to the nation aired on Iraqi state television Saturday evening.
The city's security bureau says 15 other people were injured in today's blast, and that the victims are all civilians.
A series of bombings rocked the Iraqi capital on Tuesday with at least 38 people losing their lives.
A car bomb exploded outside a popular ice cream shop in central Baghdad just after midnight Tuesday, killing 13 people and wounding 24.
At least 51 people were killed and 60 others wounded in a car bomb in Baghdad on Thursday.
At least 11 people were today killed and 25 others injured in a suicide car bombing in Iraq's capital Baghdad, police said. The attack occurred at a checkpoint near the Jamila wholesale vegetable market in
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