BAGHDAD: Thousands of supporters of Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi alliance of armed groups on Saturday marked the second anniversary of the killing of a revered Iranian commander and his Iraqi lieutenant in a US drone strike.

       Chanting “Death to America”, they filled a Baghdad square to honour Iran’s General Qasem Soleimani, who headed the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the elite Revolutionary Guards, until his death on Jan 3, 2020.

       “US terrorism has to end” read one sign at the rally by backers of the pro-Iranian Hashed, a former paramilitary alliance that has been integrated into Iraq’s state security apparatus.

       Former US president Donald Trump ordered the strike that killed Soleimani near Baghdad’s airport along with his Iraqi lieutenant Abu Hamdi al-Muhandis, Hashed’s deputy.

       Trump said at the time that the assassination came in response to a wave of attacks on US interests in Iraq.

       The killing of Soleimani, the architect of Iran’s Middle Eastern military strategy, sent shock waves across the region and sparked fears of a direct military confrontation between decades-old arch enemies Washington and Tehran.

       The Islamic republic, which wields considerable influence in neighbouring Iraq, warned it would avenge Soleimani’s death.

       Five days after his killing, Iran fired missiles at an air base in Iraq housing US troops and another near Arbil in the north.

       Since then dozens of rockets and roadside bombs have targeted Western security, military and diplomatic sites across Iraq.

       Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2022