Iranian holy city of Qom to commemorate Iraq’s assassinated PMU commander

Iran’s holy city of Qom is to host a specialized exhibition on the life and works of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the Commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) who was assassinated last January outside Baghdad International Airport on a direct order from US President Donald Trump.

According to Press TV, the exhibition, which is to be attended by seniors of the Resistance Front in Qom’s Masoumiyah Mosque and Seminary, is meant to commemorate the first martyrdom anniversary of Muhandis and top Iranian anti-terror Commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

US terrorists assassinated Lt. General Soleimani, the Commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), along with Muhandis, Deputy Head of the PMU — better known by the Arabic word Hashd al-Sha'abi — and their companions by targeting their vehicles outside the Baghdad airport on January 3.

The act of terror was carried out under the direction of the outgoing White House occupant, with the Pentagon taking responsibility for the strike.

Both distinguished commanders were viewed by the world's freedom-seeking people as the key figures in defeating Daesh, the world’s most notorious terrorist group, in West Asia battles.

Several million people attended the funeral processions held for the commanders in the Iraqi cities of Kadhimiya, Baghdad, Karbala and Najaf as well as the Iranian cities of Ahvaz, Mashhad, Tehran, Qom and Kerman.

The US assassination of Lt. General Soleimani drew a wave of condemnation from officials and movements across the world, and triggered furious public protests in denunciation of the heinous act.

The IRGC fired volleys of ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq on January 8. According to the US Defense Department, more than 100 American forces suffered “traumatic brain injuries” during the counterstrikes. The Corps, however, says Washington uses the term to mask the number of the Americans, who perished during the retaliation.

Iran has also issued an arrest warrant and asked Interpol for help in detaining Trump, who ordered the assassination, and several other US military and political leaders behind the strike.

Anti-American sentiments have been running high in Iraq after the two senior commanders were assassinated in Baghdad, with Iraqi lawmakers unanimously passing a bill on January 5 that mandated the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Iraq.

Iraqi resistance groups have pledged to take up arms against US terrorist forces if Washington fails to comply with the parliamentary order.

ME