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Iran's Soleimani and Iraq's Muhandis killed in US air strike - militia spokesman

Iran's Soleimani and Iraq's Muhandis killed in US air strike - militia spokesman

Qassem Soleimani

Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, andIraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed early on Friday in an airstrike on their convoy at Baghdad airport, anIraqi militia spokesman told Reuters.

"The American and Israeli enemy is responsible for killing the mujahideen Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Qassem Soleimani," said Ahmed al-Assadi, a spokesman forIraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces umbrella grouping of Iran-backed militias.

Strikes had been carried out against two targets linked to Iran in Baghdad on Thursday, USofficials told sources. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to give any further details.

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Watch: Reports - Air strike on Baghdad airport, 8 killed including Iranian Major-General Soleimani

Iraqi paramilitary groups said on Friday that three rockets hit Baghdad International Airport, killing five members ofIraqi paramilitary groups and two "guests."

The rockets landed near the air cargo terminal, burning two vehicles, killing and injuring several people.

Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a commander in the Popular Mobilization Forces

Soleimani, who has led the foreign arm of the Revolutionary Guards and has had a key role in fighting in Syria andIraq, acquired celebrity status at home and abroad.

He was instrumental in the spread of Iranian influence in the Middle East, which the United States and Tehran's regional foes Saudi Arabia and Israel have struggled to keep in check.

He survived several assassination attempts against him by Western, Israeli and Arab agencies over the past two decades.

Soleimani's Quds Force, tasked with carrying out operations beyond Iran's borders, shored up support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad when he looked close to defeat in the civil war raging since 2011 and also helped militiamen defeat Islamic State inIraq.

Soleimani became head of the Quds Force in 1998, a position in which he kept a low profile for years while he strengthened Iran's ties with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government and Shi’ite militia groups inIraq.