Shafaq News/ Hundreds of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces-PMF) supporters descended on Baghdad's international airport on the eve of the third anniversary of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Qasem Soleimani's assassination.
Soleimani, Iran's most powerful military commander, was killed by a US air strike near the airport on January 3, 2020. The 62-year-old spearheaded Iranian military operations in the Middle East as head of Iran's elite Quds Force.
He was killed at the Baghdad airport, along with al-Muhandis, the PMF's deputy commander back then, in a strike ordered by former US President Donald Trump.
The supporters of al-Hashd al-Shaabi, an umbrella of state-sanctioned Iran-backed paramilitary groups, thronged into the airport and pitched tents near a statue of the "victory's leaders". The statue was erected by the Iraqi government shortly after the assassination at the exact spot where it took place.
Security was ramped up in the vicinity of the airport and the roads leading to it. PMF troops were heavily deployed at the ubiquitous checkpoints installed to secure the crowds.
The road where the assassination took place was blocked by the tents of the PMF supporters. The traffic was diverted to another one-way road nearby.
Iran and groups allied with it in Iraq and other countries have been holding events to honour Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, the overseas arm of the elite Revolutionary Guards.
Iranian judicial officials have communicated with authorities in nine countries after identifying 127 suspects in the case, including 74 U.S. nationals.
Confirming the Iranian general's death at the time, the US Department of Defense said, "Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region." The IRGC is a US-designated terrorist organization.
The attack came hours after then-US defense secretary Mark Esper said that Washington was ready to step up activities to push Iran-backed forces out of Iraq, including preemptive strikes.
The assassination marked a major escalation in a simmering conflict between the US and Iran. Several days after the general’s death, Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq. The Pentagon said dozens of troops suffered traumatic brain injuries as a result.