{"id":12999,"date":"2020-01-04T12:24:50","date_gmt":"2020-01-04T09:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/?p=12999"},"modified":"2020-01-04T12:26:30","modified_gmt":"2020-01-04T09:26:30","slug":"another-air-strike-on-pro-iran-convoy-in-iraq-ahead-of-soleimani-funeral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/04\/another-air-strike-on-pro-iran-convoy-in-iraq-ahead-of-soleimani-funeral\/","title":{"rendered":"Another Air Strike on Pro-Iran Convoy in Iraq Ahead of Soleimani Funeral"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>By AF<\/strong>P<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A fresh air strike hit pro-Iran&nbsp;fighters in Iraq early Saturday, as fears grew of a proxy war erupting between Washington and Tehran a day after an American drone strike killed a top Iranian general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The killing of Quds Force commander Major General Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad on Friday was the most dramatic escalation yet in spiralling tensions between&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;and the United States, which pledged to send more troops to the region &#8212; even as President Donald Trump insisted he did not want war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iran&#8217;s ambassador to the United Nations, Majid Takht Ravanchi, told CNN that the killing was an &#8220;act of war on the part of the United States&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A new strike on Saturday targeted a convoy belonging to the Hashed al-Shaabi, an Iraqi paramilitary network dominated by Shiite factions with close ties to&nbsp;Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Hashed did not say who it held responsible but Iraqi state television reported it was a US air strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A police source told AFP the strike left &#8220;dead and wounded,&#8221; without providing a specific toll. There was no immediate comment from the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure><iframe src=\"https:\/\/tpc.googlesyndication.com\/safeframe\/1-0-37\/html\/container.html\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monitor.co.ug\/691150-691150-7icavj\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Home<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monitor.co.ug\/News\/688324-688324-156c2gl\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monitor.co.ug\/News\/World\/688340-688340-5mji40z\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">World<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">New air strike on pro-Iran convoy in Iraq ahead of Soleimani funeral<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">SATURDAY JANUARY 4 2020<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.monitor.co.ug\/image\/view\/-\/5406650\/highRes\/2528110\/-\/maxw\/600\/-\/6pmh8yz\/-\/world1+pic.jpg\" alt=\"Supporters and members of the Hashed al-Shaabi\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Supporters and members of the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force and Iraq&#8217;s Hezbollah brigades attend the funeral of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani (portrait) and Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (portrait) in Baghdad&#8217;s district of al-Jadriya, in Baghdad&#8217;s high-security Green Zone, on January 4, 2020. (Photo by Ahmad AL-RUBAYE \/ AFP)&nbsp;ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure><iframe width=\"360\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By AFP<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A fresh air strike hit pro-Iran&nbsp;fighters in Iraq early Saturday, as fears grew of a proxy war erupting between Washington and Tehran a day after an American drone strike killed a top Iranian general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The killing of Quds Force commander Major General Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad on Friday was the most dramatic escalation yet in spiralling tensions between&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;and the United States, which pledged to send more troops to the region &#8212; even as President Donald Trump insisted he did not want war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iran&#8217;s ambassador to the United Nations, Majid Takht Ravanchi, told CNN that the killing was an &#8220;act of war on the part of the United States&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A new strike on Saturday targeted a convoy belonging to the Hashed al-Shaabi, an Iraqi paramilitary network dominated by Shiite factions with close ties to&nbsp;Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Hashed did not say who it held responsible but Iraqi state television reported it was a US air strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A police source told AFP the strike left &#8220;dead and wounded,&#8221; without providing a specific toll. There was no immediate comment from the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Also Read<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monitor.co.ug\/News\/National\/Over-2500-Ankole-youth-dropped-during-UPDF-recruitment\/688334-5406424-vxd5pk\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Over 2500 Ankole youth dropped during UPDF recruitment<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monitor.co.ug\/News\/National\/Cattle-rustling-ruins-festive-season-in-Karamoja\/688334-5406400-mw8rm7\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cattle rustling ruins festive season in Karamoja<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monitor.co.ug\/News\/National\/Man-hospitalised-running-5km-during-UPDF-recruitment-exercise\/688334-5406392-2wqo33\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Man hospitalised after running 5km during UPDF recruitment exercise<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ADVERTISEMENT<ins><\/ins><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It came hours ahead of a planned a mourning march for Soleimani, who was killed alongside Hashed number two Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in the precision drone strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As head of&nbsp;Iran&#8217;s Revolutionary Guard Corps&#8217; foreign operations arm, Soleimani was a powerful figure domestically and oversaw wide-ranging Iranian involvement in regional power struggles &#8212; and anti-US forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump said the 62-year-old, who had been blacklisted by the US, had been plotting imminent attacks on American diplomats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His assassination has rattled the region, with Iraqis fearing a proxy war between Washington and Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8211; Mourning procession &#8211;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A total of five Revolutionary Guards and five Hashed fighters were killed in Friday&#8217;s strike near Baghdad international airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their bodies will be laid tom rest in an elaborate mourning procession on Saturday, beginning with a state funeral in the capital and ending in the Shiite holy city of Najaf to its south.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bodies of the Guards will then be flown to&nbsp;Iran, which has declared three days of mourning for Soleimani.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tehran has already named his deputy, Esmail Qaani, to replace him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei promised &#8220;severe revenge,&#8221; while in Tehran tens of thousands of protesters torched US flags and chanted &#8220;death to America.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump hailed the operation, saying he decided to &#8220;terminate&#8221; Soleimani after discovering he was preparing an &#8220;imminent&#8221; attack on US diplomats and troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He insisted Friday Washington did not seek a wider conflict, saying: &#8220;We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But hours later the Pentagon said between 3,000 to 3,500 troops would be dispatched to Iraq&#8217;s southern neighbour Kuwait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised Washington&#8217;s partners in the region, but said their European allies &#8220;haven&#8217;t been as helpful as I wish that they could be&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The Brits, the French, the Germans all need to understand that what we did, what the Americans did, saved lives in Europe as well,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8211; Embassy storming &#8211;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some 14,000 troops were already deployed as reinforcements to the Middle East last year, reflecting steadily growing tensions with&nbsp;Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are approximately 5,200 US troops deployed across Iraq to help local forces ensure a lasting defeat of Islamic State group fighters.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pro-Iran&nbsp;factions have seized on Soleimani&#8217;s death to push parliament to revoke the security agreement allowing their deployment on Iraqi soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lawmakers are to convene in emergency session&nbsp;on Sunday and are expected to hold a vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paramilitary figures in Iraq including US-blacklisted Qais al-Khazaali and militiaman-turned-politician Moqtada Sadr called on their fighters to &#8220;be ready&#8221; after Friday&#8217;s strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And Lebanon&#8217;s Tehran-backed Shiite movement Hezbollah threatened &#8220;punishment for these criminal assassins.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Soleimani had long been considered a lethal foe by US lawmakers and presidents, with Trump saying he should have been killed &#8220;many years ago&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following Friday&#8217;s strike, the embassy urged US citizens to leave Iraq immediately and American staff were being evacuated from oil fields in the south.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Analysts said the strike, which sent world oil prices soaring, would be a game-changer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Trump changed the rules &#8212; he wanted (Soleimani) eliminated,&#8221; said Ramzy Mardini, a researcher at the US Institute of Peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Phillip Smyth, a US-based specialist on Shiite armed groups, described the killing as &#8220;the most major decapitation strike that the US has ever pulled off.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He&nbsp;expected &#8220;bigger&#8221; ramifications than either the 2011 operation that killed Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden or the 2019 raid that killed IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iraq&#8217;s caretaker prime minister Adel Abdel Mahdi warned the strike would &#8220;spark a devastating war in Iraq&#8221; as President Barham Saleh pleaded &#8220;voices of reason&#8221; to prevail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By AFP A fresh air strike hit pro-Iran&nbsp;fighters in Iraq early Saturday, as fears grew of a proxy war erupting between Washington and Tehran a day after an American drone strike killed a top Iranian general. The killing of Quds Force commander Major General Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad on Friday was the most dramatic escalation [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27983,"featured_media":13000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[161],"tags":[31],"class_list":["post-12999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27983"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12999"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13002,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12999\/revisions\/13002"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}