Gus Taylor and Dave Boyer at the Washington Times offers a piece on the airstrike that killed an Iranian general.
The U.S. military claimed responsibility Thursday night for an airstrike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian military’s elite Quds force, at Baghdad International Airport in Iraq.
“At the direction of the President, the U.S. military has taken decisive defensive action to protect U.S. personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani,” the Pentagon said in a statement, asserting that Gen. Soleimani “was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”
“This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans,” the statement said. “The United States will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world.”
The U.S. claimed responsibility after Iraqi news outlets reported that Gen. Soleimani, as well as Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, had both been killed in the airstrike in Baghdad.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper suggested during a news conference earlier that preemptive American military action against Iran and its proxies may be imminent.
The developments underscore escalating tension between the U.S. and Iran. Washington blamed Iran-backed forces in Iraq of attacking the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad this week and of carrying out an earlier attack that killed an American military contractor in Iraq.
Iran called the strike “international terrorism” and an “escalation” of tensions.
… “General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more,” the statement said. “General Soleimani also approved the attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad that took place this week.”
You can read the rest of the story via the below link:
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jan/2/qasem-soleimani-killed-us-airstrike/
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