INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
2023-01-02T17:20:06.000000 Hundreds of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces-PMF) supporters came down on Baghdads international
airport on the eve of the 3rd anniversary of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Qasem Soleimanis assassination.Soleimani, Irans most effective
military leader, was eliminated by a United States air campaign near the airport on January 3, 2020
The 62-year-old spearheaded Iranian military operations in the Middle East as head of Irans elite Quds Force.He was killed at the Baghdad
airport, together with al-Muhandis, the PMFs deputy leader back then, in a strike ordered by previous US President Donald Trump.The
supporters of al-Hashd al-Shaabi, an umbrella of state-sanctioned Iran-backed paramilitary groups, thronged into the airport and pitched
tents near a statue of the victorys leaders
The statue was set up by the Iraqi federal government soon after the assassination at the precise area where it took place.Security was
increase in the vicinity of the airport and the roadways leading to it
PMF soldiers were greatly deployed at the ubiquitous checkpoints set up to secure the crowds
The roadway where the assassination occurred was blocked by the tents of the PMF supporters
The traffic was diverted to another one-way road nearby.Iran and groups allied with it in Iraq and other nations have been holding occasions
to honour Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, the overseas arm of the elite Revolutionary Guards
Iranian judicial officials have interacted with authorities in nine countries after identifying 127 suspects in the case, including 74 U.S
nationals.Confirming the Iranian generals death at the time, the United States Department of Defense stated, Soleimani was actively
developing strategies to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region
The IRGC is a US-designated terrorist organization.The attack came hours after then-US defense secretary Mark Esper said that Washington
was ready to step up activities to push Iran-backed dislodge of Iraq, including preemptive strikes.The assassination marked a significant
escalation in a simmering dispute in between the United States and Iran
A number of days after the generals death, Iran reacted by shooting ballistic missiles at 2 US bases in Iraq
The Pentagon stated dozens of soldiers suffered distressing brain injuries as an outcome.
