BALADI NEWS
The United States has carried out a strike in Iraq near Baghdad airport, killing Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.
Tehran has vowed "crushing revenge" for the killing, saying that the assassination will double the motivation to retaliate against the U.S. and Israel.
Following the attack, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad urged all citizens to depart Iraq immediately.
The strike also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF, Iraqi officials said.
"This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans," the Pentagon said.
Haaretz newspaper reported U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as he tweeted a video of Iraqis allegedly "dancing in the street for freedom; thankful that General Soleimani is no more," following the assassination.
Iranian Supreme Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday the assassination of Soleimani would double the motivation of the resistance against the United States and Israel, state television reported.
"All enemies should know that the jihad of resistance will continue with a doubled motivation, and a definite victory awaits the fighters in the holy war," Khamenei said in a televised statement, in which he called for three days of national mourning.
"Soleimani's martyrdom will make Iran more decisive to resist America's expansionism and to defend our Islamic values," Iranian President Hassan Rohani said in a statement on Friday. "With no doubt, Iran and other freedom-seeking countries in the region will take his revenge."