This archive report was first published on 3 January 2020.
On January 3, 2020, a strike at the Baghdad International Airport killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, a powerful commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, according to Iraqi state television.
The strike also killed five other people, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the pro-Iranian chief of the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq, and Mohammed Ridha Jabri, the public relations chief for the umbrella group.
The attack appears to have been an airstrike that hit two vehicles, according to an officer at the Baghdad joint command.
The strike was the second attack at the airport within hours, following an earlier attack that involved three rockets that did not appear to have caused any injuries.
The attack came at a moment of high tension between the United States and Iran, following a series of escalating incidents, including the killing of an American contractor in Kirkuk Province and the bombing of three sites of the Khataib Hezbollah militia.
Iranian and American officials have not confirmed the death of General Suleimani, but the strike has raised concerns about the escalating conflict between the two nations.
