It is now being reported that Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was killed in an attack issued by Donald Trump. The effort was carried out at the Baghdad airport in Iraq.
A statement from Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said, “At the direction of the President, the U.S. military has taken decisive defensive action to protect U.S. personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.”
The statement continued, “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. He had orchestrated attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the last several months – including the attack on December 27th – culminating in the death and wounding of additional American and Iraqi personnel. General Soleimani also approved the attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad that took place this week.”
In a diplomatic show of force, the statement continued, “This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans. The United States will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world.”
MSNBC host Chris Hayes swerved from his original reporting to bring the news to his viewers.
“We have hugely consequential breaking news at this hour,” he said. “Iraqi state TV is reporting that in a strike the Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was killed along with the head of an Iran-backed militia in Iraq…Qasem Soleimani is one of the most important figures in the Middle East, arguably the most important figure in Iran — he runs the Quds Force.”
The Associated Press is reporting that Soleimani was killed via airstrike along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF.
Following the mission, Trump tweeted the American flag while on vacation at his golf course in Florida.
Additional reporting linked below.
Image via Wikipedia.