Soleimani's funeral procession brings out thousands in Baghdad

Soleimani funeral.
(Image credit: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Thousands gathered Saturday in Baghdad for the funeral procession of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' elite Quds Force who was killed in a U.S. airstrike this week in Iraq. His death has heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, with the latter vowing to retaliate for the strike.

Many of the mourners were reportedly militia members donning their military fatigues, and anti-American and anti-Israel chants could be heard coming from the crowd. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, who has announced his resignation after a series of anti-government protests, and Iraqi militia commander Hadi al-Amiri attended the procession, which also honored Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and other Iraqis killed alongside Soleimani in the strike.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.