This archive report was first published on 4 January 2020.
Published on January 4, 2020, the US killing of Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian commander, has opened a period of uncertainty for both the Middle East and the US.
The strike, carried out by a drone, targeted Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy chief of the Iraqi paramilitary force Hashed al-Shaabi.
According to a US defence official, the mission was conducted 'at the direction of' President Donald Trump.
Security sources reported that 10 people were killed in the strike that hit two vehicles on a road leading to Baghdad international airport.
Qasem Soleimani, who was considered one of Iran's most powerful figures, was traveling in one of those vehicles.
The method used to take out key military figures is more akin to the modus operandi of the Israeli army than US forces.
Examples include the raid that killed Osama bin Laden or, more recently, former Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The United States has closely followed Soleimani's movements over the last few months and could have targeted him before.
The Pentagon said the general had been 'actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.'
On Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Soleimani was planning a 'big action' that would have 'put dozens if not hundreds of American lives at risk.'
World oil prices jumped by more than four percent Friday following Soleimani's death, on market fears the killing will crank up tensions in the region.
Iran has promised to avenge his death. Its close ally, Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, said punishment for those responsible will be the 'task of all resistance fighters worldwide.'
