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Millions attend General Qasem Soleimani Funeral [Video inside]
Soleimani was killed on 3 January 2020 around 1:00 a.m. local time (22:00 UTC on 2 January 2020),[105] after missiles shot from American drones targeted his convoy near Baghdad International Airport.[106] He had just left his plane, which arrived in Iraq from Lebanon or Syria.[107] His body was identified using a ring he wore on his finger, with DNA confirmation still pending.[108] Also killed were four members of the Popular Mobilization Forces, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the Iraqi-Iranian military commander who headed the PMF.[109] The Iraqi prime minister Mahdi, said Suleimani was bringing Iran’s response to a letter that Iraq had sent out on behalf of Saudi Arabia in order to ease tensions between the two countries in the region. The prime minister did not reveal the message’s exact content.[110] Soleimani was posthumously promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General[8] and praised as a martyr by speaker of the Iranian parliament Ali Larijani[111] and Mohsen Rezaei, a former commander of the IRGC.[112] Soleimani was succeeded by Esmail Ghaani as commander of the Quds Force.[26]
