President Bashar al-Assad condoled Iran over the assassination of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Qods Force Commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, saying that the late commander’s support for Syria will always be remembered by the Syrian nation. RNA - In a message to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei on Friday, Assad expressed his and “the Arab people of Syria’s warmest condolences” to the Leader and the Iranian nation.
Assad stated that the Syrian people would never forget General Soleimani’s support for the Syrian Arab Army in defense of Syria and against terrorism.
Describing the assassination of General Soleimani as a “criminal act” serving “Zionist and imperialist designs”, Assad noted that his martyrdom would strengthen the will of the resistance axis.
Assad also expressed condolences in a separate message to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
The top commander was martyred in a targeted assassination attack by US aircraft at Baghdad International Airport early Friday morning. The airstrike also martyred Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), or Hashad al-Shabi. The PMF media arm reported that the two were martyred in an American airstrike that targeted their vehicle on the road to the airport.
The attack came amid tensions that started by the US attack on PMF units that killed 28 Iraqi popular forces. A day later, Iraqi people attacked the US embassy in Baghdad. On Wednesday Trump ordered about 750 US soldiers deployed to the Middle East.
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