Qassem Soleimani killing: Mourners march, lit candles on one-year anniversary

Today, on January 03, marks the 1-year anniversary of General Qassem Soleimani’s assassination, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq.

A mock funeral procession in Iraq gathered to pay homage to the top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Thousands of mourners joined the march on the highway leading to the Baghdad airport on Saturday evening.

As the highway remained blocked with cars, demonstrators carrying posters of Soleimani and al-Muhandis adorned both sides of the road lined with tents that served food and drinks for those walking.

The scene of the bombing was turned into a shrine-like area sealed off by red ropes, with a photo of Soleimani and al-Muhandis in the middle, as mourners lit candles.

Quds Force Threatens Of ‘Harsh Revenge’

Earlier, the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards said in a statement on the anniversary of the assassination of its commander, Qassem Soleimani that harsh revenge awaits those who killed their commander.

Muhammad Hijazi, a commander of the Quds Force, reiterated his threat to the United States. It should be noted that despite growing tensions between Iran and the United States, political rhetoric continues on both sides.

The deputy commander of the Iranian Quds Force, Mohammad Hijazi, said that the demand for severe revenge from the enemy remained. This means that revenge must be on those who ordered and carried out Soleimani’s assassination, but the timing and method of revenge depend on the circumstances.

“We will give the United States two more slaps,” Hijazi told reporters, according to the Revolutionary Guards’ Tasnim news agency. One is to end US influence in the region and the other is to withdraw US troops from Iraq.

“The United States killed our commander in Iraq,” he said. In response, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered an attack on Iraq’s Ain al-Assad military base and a mass funeral for Soleimani in Iran.

“Those Involved In Gen. Soleimani’s Killing Shall Be Punished”

On the other hand, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei had said that revenge is sure for those who ordered the assassination of Shaheed General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S drone strike near Baghdad airport on January 3, 2020.

Ahead of the martyrdom anniversary of Lt. General Qassem Soleimani, the family of the late General met with Ayatollah Khamenei in Tehran on Wednesday.

“Those who ordered the murder of General Soleimani, as well as those who carried this out, should be punished. This revenge will certainly happen at the right time,” said the Iranian leader.

“Millions attending Martyrs Soleimani and Abu Mahdi’s funerals in Iraq and Iran was the first severe slap to the US. But the worse one is overcoming the hegemony of arrogance and expelling the US from the region. Of course, revenge will be taken on those who ordered it and the murderers,” Khamenei noted.

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