BREAKING: US AIRSTRIKE KILLS HEAD OF IRANIAN "QUDS FORCE" AND SENIOR IRAQI HEZBOLLAH LEADER AT BAGHDAD AIRPORT

Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, both killed in an airstrike Friday morning at Baghdad Airport. (Credit: Fars News Agency via Wikimedia Commons)

US officials have confirmed that an airstrike on a vehicle convoy inside Baghdad airport early Friday morning killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard "Quds Force" commander Qassem Solemani. The commander of the "Kataib Hezbollah" militia in Iraq, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, was also killed in the same strike. Kataib Hezbollah is sponsored and directed by the IRGC, and al-Muhandis was also second-in-command over all Iraqi militias in the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). Several other Iraqi militia figures were also killed in the strike.

The Pentagon released a statement confirming that US President Trump had authorized the strike that killed Solemaini, reporting that he was planning additional attacks on US forces in the Middle East. The IRGC is designated as a terrorist organization by the US Government.

Iranian state TV confirmed the "martyrdom" of Solemani, who was the architect of the Iranian “Quds Forces” strategic programs outside of Iran, including its relationship with terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shi’a militias in Iraq and Syria, and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

This story is still developing and will be updated as new details emerge.

Photo: Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, both killed in an airstrike Friday morning at Baghdad Airport. (Credit: Fars News Agency via Wikimedia Commons)

Sources:

https://www.algemeiner.com/2020/01/02/infamous-top-iranian-revolutionary-guard-commander-qassem-soleimani-killed-in-air-strike-in-baghdad/

https://twitter.com/AlArabiya_Eng/status/1212908302201475072

https://twitter.com/BaxtiyarGoran/status/1212895016496050176

https://twitter.com/Joyce_Karam/status/1212931521604177921