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Iraq
IRGC Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US airstrike ordered by President Donald Trump on January 3, 2020. Photos: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A top Baghdad court has issued an arrest warrant for US President Donald Trump for ordering the assassination of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, just hours after Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in Washington D.C.
Rusafa Investigative Court issued an arrest warrant for Trump on Thursday, Iraqi state media reported.
“The judge responsible for investigating the assassination of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and his colleagues issued an arrest warrant for outgoing US President Donald Trump as per article 406 of Iraqi penal code,” read a statement released to state media.
According to Article 406, the “willful” killing of another person is punishable by death in many cases, including premeditated murder and the death of a public official or agent.
The warrant comes just hours after a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday, interrupting a congressional session to confirm Joe Biden’s election win over Trump.
The US president has repeatedly refused to acknowledge the official election results, stoking further tensions in the US.
Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds force, and Muhandis, deputy commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic), were killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad's international airport on January 3, 2020.
The attack was ordered by Trump, who called Soleimani “the number one terrorist anywhere in the world” and claimed he was planning attacks on US forces.
The IRGC Quds force is responsible for Iran’s operations overseas and is designated a foreign terrorist organization by the US.
Trump has been repeatedly criticized for his policies in Iraq and Syria.
In December, he pardoned four former security contractors jailed for killing 14 Iraq civilians, including a nine-year-old boy, in a 2007 Baghdad massacre.
Survivors and families of the victims told Rudaw that they plan to sue the US president.
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