Iraq
Iraqi officials attending a forum commemorating the third anniversary of Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis killing in Baghdad on January 5, 2023. Photo: Iraqi Oil Ministry
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi leaders and officials on Thursday reiterated condemnations of the killing of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a US strike in Baghdad three years prior, during a forum commemorating the anniversary of the assassination.
Soleimani, head of the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was killed in a US airstrike on January 3, 2020, alongside Muhandis, deputy chief of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The strike was ordered by former US President Donald Trump in response to the constant attacks by IRGC-allied groups on the US embassy in Baghdad and military bases housing coalition and US forces across the country.
Soleimani and Muhandis were controversial figures in Iraq and the wider region. Muhandis was a founder of pro-Iran militia group Kataib Hezbollah accused by the international community of orchestrating the attacks on bases and numerous kidnappings of activists and protesters. Their killing stunned the Iranian establishment and their regional allies but was welcomed by the US allies in the region.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani called the killing “a flagrant violation” of Iraq’s sovereignty, adding that the repercussions could have threatened the stability of the region.
“We will not hesitate to consolidate the strength of the state and the Iraqi citizen's sense of belonging to a strong country able to preserve its sovereignty and dignity and provide a comfortable life for them,” said the Iraqi premier, adding that their blood “must not go in vain.”
President Abdul Latif Rashid also condemned the killing of Soleimani and Mohandis, saying that their targeting is a blow to all “moral, legal and political regulations.”
“The targeting must remain a subject of denunciation and rejection, and be a priority for Iraqi political dealings until justice is achieved,” said the Iraqi President.
Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zidan said it was the judiciary’s responsibility to hold the perpetrators of the killing accountable, calling on those in charge of investigating the incident to make “an exceptional effort” to reach the evidence revealing the perpetrators.
Iraq’s judiciary issued an arrest warrant for Trump last year for ordering the assassination of Soleimani and Muhandis.
“The judiciary will not hesitate to take legal measures against anyone who proves evidence of his participation in this crime in any way, whatever his position and location,” Zidan added.
Hundreds of PMF supporters on Monday commemorated the third anniversary of Soleimani and Muhandis’ assassination near Baghdad airport - the scene of the killing.
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