ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Crowds of Iraqis began gathering early Sunday morning in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square on the first anniversary of the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) have made preparations for a “million person march” and a stage has been set up in the square, which a year ago was the epicentre of anti-government protests that decried Iranian influence in Iraqi affairs.
Qais al-Khazali, leader of the Iranian-backed Asaib Ahl-al Haq, called for the march in a statement on Friday. “In support of the man of the age and time, love for Iraq, and loyalty to the blood of the martyrs, we invite every honorable citizen of this country to participate in the demonstration of Days of Martyrdom and Sovereignty on Sunday in Tahrir Square,” he tweeted.
Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds force, and Muhandis, deputy commander of the PMF, were killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad's international airport on January 3, 2020, in an attack ordered by US President Donald Trump.
“We are here to commemorate the martyrdom of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Qasem Soleimani,” one of the attendees at Tahrir Square told Rudaw’s Mustafa Goran on Sunday. “Let us not forget, they sacrificed a lot for Iraq and they defeated America in Iraq.”
The one-year commemoration began with a mock funeral procession attended by thousands of mourners on Saturday night on the highway leading to the airport and the site of the assassination.
The scene of the bombing was turned into a shrine, sealed off by red ropes and adorned with candles lit by visitors.
“God willing the investigative committee and the Iraqi judiciary will continue the investigation process for this crime,” Muhanned Al-Aqbi, PMF media manager, told the Associated Press on Saturday. “We will work hard to prosecute everyone who helped and committed this great crime.”
In Tahrir Square, security forces have been deployed throughout the area as a precautionary measure. Across the river, Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, which houses top government offices and diplomatic missions including the US embassy, has been closed to general traffic since Saturday.
Iran has vowed to revenge Soleimani assassination and there is fear in Iraq that retaliation may happen on Iraqi soil, sparking conflict between Iran and the United States. A few days after the assassination, Iran fired missiles at an Iraqi base housing US forces.
A militia leader said the American embassy and Iraqi government are not targets of the planned demonstration on Sunday. "We will not enter the embassy of evil today, nor will we overthrow this government, for there is still time," Kataib Hezbollah Secretary General Abu Hussain al-Hamidawi said in a statement released on Sunday.
American personnel and interests in Iraq have come under frequent attack by Iranian-backed militias in the past year, most recently on December 20 when multiple rockets were fired into the Green Zone, killing an Iraqi soldier.
PMF-affiliated political analyst Abbas Ardawi said that Iran’s revenge is a long term plan and retaliation may come even a decade later.
“Iran has shown that they can avenge the blood of the two generals in the past year through targeting American bases and hotspots,” Ardawi told Rudaw’s Hawraz Gulpi on Saturday. “However, revenge does not have to be instant. It could be in the next ten years.”
Cover photo: A fighter of the Hashd al-Shaabi (PMF) stands guard beneath posters of slain Iranian General Qasem Soleimani (R) and Iraqi PMF commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (L) in Baghdad on January 2, 2021. Photo: Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP
