Iraqi TV airs footage allegedly of US strike that killed Soleimani

An Iraqi TV channel ran the alleged CCTV footage of the US strike that killed top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, however Reuters did not confirm whether it was the real video or not. 

Soleimani, the head of the Al Quds--the foreign arm of the Revolutionary Guards--was killed in an airstrike ordered by US President Donald Trump on Friday. The move brought tensions between Washington and Tehran to a new high with the former threatening vengeance for the killing against the latter. 

In the footage, a car can be seen blown to smithereens by a missile. While the Iraqi channel that ran the footage said it was the authentic one, British wire agency Reuters did not confirm it. 

Soleimani was Tehran’s most prominent military commander and the architect of its growing influence in the Middle East. Muhandis was the deputy commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) umbrella grouping of paramilitary groups.

US-Iranian hostilities have been playing out in Iraq since last week when pro-Iranian militia attacked the US Embassy in Baghdad following a deadly US air raid on the Kataib Hezbollah militia, founded by Muhandis.

Many condemned the strikes, seeing Soleimani as a hero for his role in defeating the Islamic State militant group. Others voiced approval, saying Soleimani and Muhandis had backed the use of force against unarmed anti-government protesters last year and established militias that demonstrators blame for many of Iraq’s social and economic woes. 

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