New US Airstrike on Pro-Iran Convoy in Iraq ahead of Soleimani’s Funeral, several killed

A fresh airstrike hit pro-Iran fighters in Iraq early Saturday, as fears grew of a proxy war erupting between Washington and Tehran a day after an American drone strike killed a top Iranian general.

It came hours ahead of a planned mourning march for Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary heavyweight Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, slain in a precision drone strike by the US in Baghdad on Friday.

The
assassination was the most dramatic escalation yet in spiralling tensions
between Iran and the US, which pledged to send more troops to the region even
as US President Donald Trump insisted he did not want war.

Almost
exactly 24 hours later, a new strike targeted a convoy belonging to the Hashed
al-Shaabi, an Iraqi paramilitary network whose Shiite-majority factions have
close ties to Iran, the group said in a statement.

It did not
say who was responsible but sources reported it was a US airstrike.

A police
source said the bombardment north of Baghdad left “dead and wounded,”
without providing a specific toll. There was no immediate comment from the US.

US officials
said the 62-year-old, who had been blacklisted by the US, was killed when a
drone hit his vehicle near Baghdad’s international airport.