Pentagon confirms Trump ordered killing of Iranian commander General Qassem Soleimani in airstrike at Baghdad airport

After Iraq's security Media cell reported that the airstrike at Baghdad Airport killed at least eight people including Iran's most senior commander Qassem Soleimani, Pentagon officials confirmed that the United States was behind this attack.

On the orders of the US President Donald Trump, Iran's most senior commander Qassem Soleimani was killed, stated the Pentagon officials.

"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 head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, a US-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization," a statement by the United States Department of Defense read.

"General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region," it added.

Meanwhile, Trump posted a picture of the American flag after senior Iran and Iraq commanders were killed in the airstrike.

pic.twitter.com/VXeKiVzpTf

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2020

The rockets landed near the air cargo terminal at Baghdad airport, setting at least two cars on fire.

Top Iraqi and Iran commanders were killed in the attack.

Earlier, Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in a Facebook post claimed that its director of public relations was killed, blaming the United States for the bombing.

Meanwhile, Iraqi paramilitary groups claimed that five of their members and two 'guests' were killed in the airstrike.

 The militia sources stated that the 'guests' were being driven in two vehicles who were killed in the airstrike.

This incident has occurred right after supporters of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a militia group backed by Iran, withdrew from the United States embassy compound after two days relentless clash between the US security forces and the Iraqi militiamen on Wednesday in Baghdad as the US deployed fresh troops in the region.

On Tuesday, hundreds of militiamen and its supporters stormed the embassy compound in the green zone, smashing windows, breaking up the reception area, as a mark of protest against the US airstrike that hit Kataib Hezbollah bases over the weekend that killed 25 fighters. The US airstrike was in retaliation towards the missile attacks that killed a US contractor in northern Iraq last week.  

Before breaching the embassy, the protestors gathered outside the building, hurled water bottles and destroyed security cameras.

Blaming Iran for the attack on the US embassy, Trump tweeted, "..Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat. Happy New Year!"

The Green Zone is a highly secured area in Baghdad which houses embassies of various countries.