Iran’s president vows to “take revenge” for the U.S. killing of a top military commander in a drone strike at Baghdad airport early Friday morning.
Qassem Soleimani was the head of Iran’s Quds Force and his assassination marks a major escalation in the tensions that have soared in the region since an Iranian-backed militia killed an American contractor in last week in Iraq. Friday’s drone strike also killed the founder of that militia, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
The State Department is urging U.S. citizens to leave Iraq immediately, amid fears of retaliation.
Here & Now‘s Tonya Mosley gets the latest from NPR national security correspondent David Welna (@NPRwelna).
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.