Thousands Of Mourners Chants ‘Death to America’ As Iranian General, Qasem Soleimani Is Buried

Thousands of mourners chanted “death to America” as they marched in a funeral procession through Baghdad for Iran’s top general killed in a US airstrike.

Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani (C) attends Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s (not seen) meeting with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in Tehran, Iran on September 18, 2016.

General Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds force and mastermind of its regional security strategy, was killed in an airstrike overnight on Friday near the Iraqi capital’s airport.

US President Donald Trump says he ordered the strike to prevent a conflict but Iran has vowed harsh retaliation, raising fears of an all-out war. Washington has dispatched 3,000 troop reinforcements to the region.

The mourners, mostly men in black military fatigues, carried Iraqi flags and the flags of Iran-backed militias that are fiercely loyal to General Soleimani. As well as Gen Soleimani, mourners had gathered to pay respects to Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was killed in the airstrike.

The procession began at theImam Kadhim shrine in Baghdad, one of the most revered sites in Shiite Islam. Mourners marched in the streets alongside militia vehicles in a solemn procession. The mourners, many of them in tears, chanted: “No, No, America,” and “Death to America, death to Israel.”

Two helicopters hovered over the procession, which was attended by Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi and leaders of Iran-backed militias. The gates to Baghdad’s Green Zone, which houses government offices and foreign embassies, including the U.S. Embassy, were closed.

The US president said Gen Soleimani was targeted because he was “plotting to kill” many Americans and that he “should have been taken out many years ago”. Mr Trump said a “reign of terror is over” and accused the general of making “the death of innocent people his sick passion”.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that “severe revenge awaits the criminals” behind the strike and announced three days of national mourning. In Iran on Saturday, every major newspaper and state-controlled TV broadcast focused on General Soleimani’s death, with even reformist newspapers like Aftab-e Yazd warning that “revenge is on the way.”

Billboards have appeared on major streets showing General Soleimani’s face, many carrying the warning from the leader that “harsh revenge” awaits the US. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate in the country’s political establishment, visited General Soleimani’s home in Tehran to express his condolences.

“The Americans did not realise what a great mistake they made,” Rouhani said. “They will see the effects of this criminal act, not only today but for years to come.”

Soleimani was the architect of Iran’s regional policy of mobilising militias across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, including in the war against the Islamic State group. He was also blamed for attacks on US troops and American allies over nearly two decades.

Photo Credit: Getty

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