Iraq says pursuing justice in General Soleimani’s assassination

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani says Baghdad seriously pursues justice with respect to the assassination of top Iranian anti-terror Commander Lt. General Qassem Soleimani and his Iraqi trenchmate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a US drone strike in 2020.

According to Press TV, Sudani made the remarks in a meeting with a delegation of Iranian media representatives in Baghdad on Friday.

The prime minister said the Judicial Council of Iraq and the government pursue the issue seriously. He denounced the targeted assassination as a blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.

Sudani said a committee comprising security inspectors has already been formed to compile necessary information, and present evidence in legal forums.

Lt. General Soleimani, Commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the Second-in-Command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), and their companions were assassinated in a US drone strike authorized by then-President Donald Trump near Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020.

Both commanders were highly revered across West Asia because of their key role in fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in the region, particularly in Iraq and Syria.

On January 8, 2020, the IRGC targeted the US-run Ain al-Asad base in Iraq’s western Province of Anbar with a wave of missile attacks in retaliation for the assassination of Lt. General Soleimani.

According to the Pentagon, more than 100 American forces suffered “traumatic brain injuries” during the counterstrike on the base.

Iran has described the missile attack on Ain al-Assad as a “first slap.”

Two days after the attack, Iraqi lawmakers approved a bill that required the government to end the presence of all foreign military forces led by the US in the country.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Sudani pointed to the presence of trans-regional forces in Iraq, stating that the matter is an important and sensitive issue that must be quickly addressed. He said Iraq's security forces have developed the capability to secure the country by themselves.

Sudani highlighted that the Iraqi government, representing all political factions, has the authority to engage in dialogue to eliminate the military presence of foreign troops.

ME