Thousands gather in Baghdad to mourn Soleimani

Thousands of mourners gathered in Baghdad on Saturday ahead of a funeral procession for Iran’s slain military commander Qassem Soleimani, Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and others killed in a U.S. air strike in Iraq.

Friday’s attack on Baghdad airport, authorized by U.S. President Donald Trump, was a major escalation in a “shadow war” in the Middle East between Iran and the United States and American allies, principally Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The PMF are planning an elaborate funeral procession for both men and the others who died, starting in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, moving towards the Shi’ite holy city of Kerbala and ending in the Shi’ite holy city of Najaf.

The convoy included eight ambulances which carried the bodies of those killed, and several other vehicles full of PMF.

Mourners started gathering in Baghdad’s streets in the morning ahead of the start of the procession, waving Iraqi and militia flags in a somber atmosphere.

The Iraqi parliament is due to have an emergency session on Sunday in response to caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s call to take measures to preserve Iraq’s security.

Read more via Reuters/ Al Jazeera