US Drone Strike Assassinates Iran's Top General Qassem Soleimani
President Trump orders a drone strike near Baghdad airport that kills General Qassem Soleimani, Iran's most powerful military commander, in the most dramatic US military action against Iran since 1988.
On January 3, 2020, a US MQ-9 Reaper drone fired missiles at a convoy leaving Baghdad International Airport, killing Major General Qassem Soleimani commander of Iran's Quds Force and the second most powerful figure in Iran after Supreme Leader Khamenei. Nine others were also killed, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces. The Trump administration justified the strike by claiming Soleimani was planning imminent attacks on American personnel. Iran's government called it an act of war and promised severe retaliation. Massive crowds flooded the streets of Iranian cities in mourning. Soleimani had orchestrated Iran's proxy network across the Middle East for decades and was widely seen as the architect of Iranian regional power.
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