Thousands of Iraqis join Baghdad funeral for slain commanders
- 04 Jan 2020
Thousands of mourners gathered in Baghdad on Saturday ahead of a funeral procession for Iran's slain military commander Qassem Soleimani, Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and others killed in a Friday US air strike in Iraq.
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Friday's attack on Baghdad airport, authorised by US President Donald Trump, was a major escalation in a "shadow war" in the Middle East between Iran and the United States and American allies.
Soleimani was Tehran's most prominent military commander and the architect of its growing influence in the Middle East. Muhandis was the deputy commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) umbrella grouping of paramilitary groups.
The PMF are planning an elaborate funeral procession for both men and the others who died, starting in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, moving towards the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala and ending in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf.
Mourners started gathering in Baghdad's streets from the morning ahead of the start of the procession, waving Iraqi and militia flags in a sombre atmosphere.
Earlier on Saturday, Iraq's PMF had said further air strikes near camp Taji had killed six people and critically wounded three. The attacks hit a convoy of medics, not senior leaders, the grouping said.
Reuters