In Iraq, protestors burns model of US Embassy ahead of Soleimani's death anniversary

Demonstrators gathered outside Baghdad's Green Zone which includes the US Embassy compound on Friday to remember Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian anti-terror commander who was killed on January 3, 2020. Media reports suggest that he was killed by a US drone strike. The demonstrators created a model of the US Embassy, painting it with graffiti and lighting it on fire while waving Iraqi flags.

The demonstrators also gathered to remember Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the Iraqi anti-Daesh commander who was killed along with Soleimani. According to Sputnik, one of the protesters said that today, they recall the day the evil embassy entered Iraq, the embassy of the great Satan, the American embassy that never gives good to any country. They also said it brought misery to the Iraqi people.

Late Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was a deputy commander of PMF

The late Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was a deputy commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and his killing alongside Soleimani in January 2020 infuriated militia leaders, prompting them to warn that they would not stop rocket attacks on US military facilities, according to Sputnik. The United States Embassy in Baghdad issued an alert earlier this week, citing increased demonstration activity related to the certification of Iraqi elections, as well as the December 31 deadline for the transition of US military operations in Iraq and the 3 January anniversary of the airstrike that killed Qasem Soleimani.

Soleimani and al-Muhandis were killed in a US drone strike at Baghdad International Airport on 3 January 2020, with US officials initially claiming that the Iranian counter-terror commander was planning attacks on US forces, but later admitting that there was no specific intelligence pointing to any Soleimani plots, according to Sputnik. The assassination prompted Iran to launch over a dozen ballistic missiles at two US sites in Iraq, injuring over 100 American troops and bringing Tehran and Washington to the verge of war.

Iran will continue to pursue individuals responsible for Soleimani's death

Iran has reiterated that it will continue to pursue individuals responsible for Soleimani's death, including then US President Donald Trump, with Iranian and Iraqi authorities issuing arrest warrants for the former president, according to Sputnik. Iran's Foreign Ministry stated on Friday that the US accepts definitive international responsibility for Soleimani's killing and that the Biden administration is now ultimately accountable for the predecessor's attack that was orchestrated and carried out in a systematic manner.

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