US kills top Iranian general

Iran's most powerful military commander, Gen Qasem Soleimani, has been killed by a US air strike in Iraq, reports BBC.

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 other Iran-backed militia figures, early on Friday in a strike ordered by US President Donald Trump.

Mr Trump said the general was "directly and indirectly responsible for the deaths of millions of people".

Soleimani's killing marks a major escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Under his leadership, Iran had bolstered Hezbollah in Lebanon and other pro-Iranian militant groups, expanded its military presence in Iraq and Syria and orchestrated Syria's offensive against rebel groups in the country's long civil war.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said "severe revenge awaits the criminals" behind the attack. He also announced three days of national mourning.

Soleimani was widely seen as the second most powerful figure in Iran, behind the Ayatollah Khamenei. The Quds Force, an elite unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, reported directly to the ayatollah and Soleimani was hailed as a heroic national figure.

But the US has called the commander and the Quds Force terrorists and holds them responsible for the deaths of hundreds of US personnel.

President Trump, who was in Florida at the time of the strike, tweeted an image of the American flag shortly after the news broke.

Tweeting again on Friday, Mr Trump said Soleimani had "killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans... and was plotting to kill many more" and "should have been taken out many years ago".

A statement from the Pentagon - the headquarters of the US Department of Defence - said Soleimani had been "developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region".

"This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans," it added.

Soleimani and officials from Iran-backed militias were leaving Baghdad airport in two cars when they were hit by a US drone strike near a cargo area.

The commander had reportedly flown in from Lebanon or Syria. Several missiles struck the convoy and at least seven people are believed to have died.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was among those killed.

Muhandis commanded the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah group, which Washington blamed for a rocket attack which killed a US civilian contractor in northern Iraq last Friday.

He also effectively led the Popular Mobilisation units (PM), an umbrella of militias in Iraq dominated by groups aligned with Iran. Most of those killed in the strike belonged to the PM, the organisation said. Soleimani's son-in-law and a member of the Lebanese Hezbollah were also among the dead, it added.

The drone strike comes days after protesters attacked the US embassy in Baghdad, clashing with US forces at the scene. The Pentagon said Soleimani approved the attacks on the embassy.

President Hassan Rouhani said in a statement: "Iran and the other free nations of the region will take revenge for this gruesome crime from criminal America."

His death, Mr Rouhani added, had redoubled Iran's determination "to stand against America's bullying".

Gen Esmail Qaani, deputy head of the Revolutionary Guards' foreign operations arm, was named as Soleimani's successor by Ayatollah Khamenei.

Reuters adds: Iran promised harsh revenge on Friday after the airstrike that killed Qassem Soleimani.

The overnight attack, authorized by President Donald Trump, was a dramatic escalation in a "shadow war" in the Middle East between Iran and the United States and its allies, principally Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Iraq's prime minister said that with Friday's attack Washington had violated a deal for keeping U.S. troops in his country.

Israel put its army on high alert and U.S. allies in Europe including Britain, France and Germany voiced concerns about an escalation in tensions.

The U.S. embassy in Baghdad urged all American citizens to depart Iraq immediately.

Dozens of U.S. citizens working for foreign oil companies in the southern city of Basra were leaving the country. Iraqi officials said the evacuations would not affect output and exports were unaffected.

Khamenei said harsh revenge awaited the "criminals" who killed Soleimani and said his death would double resistance against the United States and Israel.

Democrats on Capitol Hill criticised the way the bombing had been carried out on Soleimani, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards' elite Quds Force who was believed to be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of US soldiers during the Iraq War and hostile Iranian activities throughout the Middle East.

"The question is this - as reports suggest, did America just assassinate, without any congressional authorization, the second most powerful person in Iran, knowingly setting off a potential massive regional war?" Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, wrote on Twitter.

Hundreds of Iranians marched toward Khamenei's compound in central Tehran to convey their condolences.

"I am not a pro-regime person but I liked Soleimani. He was brave and he loved Iran, I am very sorry for our loss," said housewife Mina Khosrozadeh in Tehran.

In Soleimani's hometown, Kerman, people wearing black gathered in front of his father's house, crying as they listened to a recitation of verses from the Koran.

"Heroes never die. It cannot be true. Qassem Soleimani will always be alive," said Mohammad Reza Seraj, a teacher.

Russia's Ministry of Defense called the killing a "short-sighted" step that would lead to escalations in the region.

AFP adds: Israel held emergency security talks Friday and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short a foreign visit as the Jewish state braced itself for fallout from the assassination of the top Iranian military commander.

Defence Minister Naftali Bennett chaired a meeting of security chiefs, including the heads of the army, the National Security Council and the Mossad intelligence agency, his office said.

Netanyahu broke off an official visit to Greece and flew home, expressing support for the overnight US strike that killed General Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad.

Fighters of the Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, Israel's bitter foe with which it fought a devastating war in 2006, are deployed on the other side of the armistice line.