Paramilitary chief says time for ‘Iraqi response’ to US drone strike
Mourners surround a car carrying the coffins of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, killed in a US air strike, during their funeral procession in Kadhimiya, a Shiite pilgrimage district of Baghdad, on January 4, 2020. - Thousands of Iraqis chanting "Death to America" joined the funeral procession Saturday for Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, both killed in a US air strike. The cortege set off around Kadhimiya, a Shiite pilgrimage district of Baghdad, before heading to the Green Zone government and diplomatic district where a state funeral was to be held attended by top dignitaries. In all, 10 people -- five Iraqis and five Iranians -- were killed in Friday morning's US strike on their motorcade just outside Baghdad airport. (Photo by SABAH ARAR / AFP)
BAGHDAD: A top commander in Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary network said Wednesday it was time for an “Iraqi response” to a US drone strike that killed the network’s deputy chief.
“That response will be no less than the size of the Iranian response. That is a promise,” Qais al-Khazali, a hardline Hashed commander, threatened in a tweet.
Iran launched missiles at Iraqi bases housing US troops early Wednesday in retaliation for last week’s US drone strike that killed senior Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and Hashed deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. (AFP)
