Daily US Times, Baghdad: Iran retaliates Soleimani’s killing by attacking two US airbases with dozens of missiles in Iraq.
The attacks took place hours after Soleimani’s burial. US airbase in Al Asad was attacked first, Irbil was attacked shortly after the first rockets hit in Al Asad.
Both the US state department and Iran confirmed the attack. But no casualties confirmed yet.
The Pentagon said two airbases located in Irbil and Al Asad were attacked. White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement that the President is briefed and closely monitoring the situation and consulting with his national security team.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the attack was in retaliation of the killing of former Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani.
In a statement, the Revolutionary Guard warned all American allies who gave their bases to the ‘terrorist army’, that any territory that is the starting point of aggressive acts against Iran will be targeted.
Iran’s foreign minister described the attack was self-defence and denied seeking to escalate the situation into war.
President Trump tweeted, insisting ‘all is well’ adding that they had not yet assessed the casualties.
A US military official has told the airbases were alarmed about the attack and people in harm’s way were able to get to bunkers in time.
Tensions everywhere
There are tensions everywhere about further attacks from either side. UK foreign office told the BBC: “We are urgently working to establish the facts on the ground. Our first priority is the security of British personnel.”
The UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said earlier they put the Royal Navy and military helicopters on standby amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
Canada also said they are closely monitoring the situation as the country has troops in Iraq. A top Canadian military officer said all the Canadian soldiers are safe following the missiles attack in Iraq.
Australian Prime Minister also said the Australian troops are safe in Iraq.
Singapore Airlines has diverted all its flights from the Iranian airspace amid high tensions.
How did it get here
A US airstrike killed Iran’s top military General Qasem Soleimani on early hours of Friday. Soleimani was the chief of Quds Force, a special unit if Revolutionary Guard, and was very popular in his country. He was considered the second most powerful person in the country right next to supreme leader Ayatullah Khamenei.
His killing fuels extreme anger to the Iranians and sharply increased tensions across the Middle East. Soleimani changed the landscape of Iranian influence in the region. His force mainly works outside of Iran and has a direct influence in many groups active in the region.
The US regarded Soleimani as a’ terrorist’ and blame him for the deaths of hundreds of American troops. The US embassy in Baghdad was attacked recently, and the US blamed Soleimani of plotting the attack.
After the US killed Soleimani, Iran vowed severe revenge. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned the ‘Americans would not only suffer today but also in coming years’.
Trump warned Iran to forget about retaliation, and if the country did, US targets their 52 sites, including cultural sites.
Trump’s comment about targeting cultural sites faced lots of criticism as it is considered a war crime.
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