By Maher Nazeh
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of supporters of Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary groups shouted anti-American slogans in central Baghdad on Sunday to mark the anniversary of the death of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and an Iraqi militia commander in the United States.
The meeting coincided with rising tensions between Iran and the United States in the last days of President Donald Trump’s administration, and many in the crowd demanded revenge.
Soleimani, head of an elite overseas unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, was killed along with Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis on January 3, 2020, in a U.S. drone attack against his train at Baghdad airport. .
Washington accused Soleimani of being the mastermind of the Iranian-aligned militia attacks against US forces in the region, and his death took US-Iran hostilities into unknown waters and fueled concern about a major fire.
Protesters gathering in Tahrir Square waved Iraqi and PMF flags and shouted anti-American slogans like “America is the Great Satan” while carrying the portraits of Soleimani and Muhandis.
They had flocked to the central square in response to calls from a series of militia groups known collectively as Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which are mostly supported by Iran.
Large posters of the two men killed along with others also killed in the attack were everywhere around the square and hung in adjacent buildings.
PMF chief Faleh al-Fayyad and politician Hadi al-Ameri, commander of the Badr Organization’s militia, who were both at the rally addressing the crowd, called for the expulsion of American troops.
REGIONAL TENSIONS
“We are here today to condemn what the Israeli-American enemy has done by targeting victory leaders,” said protester Abu Ahmed.
“We ask the government to take a serious position to hold those who killed them to account.”
Reflecting continuing regional tensions, Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on Saturday asked Trump not to be “arrested” for an alleged Israeli plan to provoke a war through attacks on US forces in Iraq.
An Israeli official said the accusation was “absurd” and said it was Israel that needed to be on the alert for possible Iranian attacks.
The United States blames Iran-backed militias for regular rocket attacks on American installations in Iraq. No known group supported by Iran has claimed responsibility.
The US military flew two nuclear-powered B-52 bombers to the Middle East in a message of deterrence to Iran last week, but the bombers left the region.
On Saturday night, thousands of mourners gathered on the road leading to Baghdad airport, where Soleimani and Muhandis were killed, in a mock funeral procession staged in honor of the two men.
(Reporting by Maher Nazeh, written by Amina Ismail, edited by William Maclean)