Iraqis 'dancing in streets' over death of Iran's Gen Soleimani, claims US' Mike Pompeo

After Iran and US confirmed the death of top Iranian Commander Qasem Soleimani by a Pentagon strike on Baghdad's international airport, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo sharing a video of people holding a rally said that Iraqis are celebrating the death of Iran's elite Quds Force chief, General Qassem Soleimani, by "dancing in the street." In the 22-second video which Pompeo shared on Twitter, people are seen running on a road carrying a several meter-long Iraq national flag. The video is of some unspecified location in Iraq. 

Besides Soleimani, Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and five others were also killed in the US airstrike at Baghdad's international airport, reported Iraqi officials and state television. The White House and the Pentagon confirmed the death of Iran's powerful military head by saying that the attack was directed by US President Donald Trump on January 3. To assert further, the US President posted a picture of the country's flag on his Twitter account. 

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"General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region. General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more," the Department of Defense said.

Who was General Soleimani?

Soleimani's IRGC, which was designated as a foreign terrorist organisation by Donald Trump in April last year, backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the 2011 civil war and to battle the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIS). Soleimani had been rumoured dead several times, including in a 2006 airplane crash that killed other military officials in northwestern Iran and following a 2012 bombing in Damascus that killed top aides of Assad. Rumours circulated in November 2015 that Soleimani was killed or seriously wounded leading forces loyal to Assad as they fought around Syria’s Aleppo.

The attack came amid tensions with the United States after a New Year’s Eve attack by Iran-backed militias on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. The two-day embassy attack which ended Wednesday prompted President Donald Trump to order about 750 U.S. soldiers deployed to the Middle East. However, the tensions between US-Iran take root in Trump’s decision in May 2018 to withdraw the U.S. from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, struck under his predecessor.

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