The Pentagon announced Thursday night that American forces carried out a strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Qods Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
The Pentagon said in a statement that "under the direction of the President, the US military took decisive defensive measures to protect American personnel abroad by killing Qasim Soleimani."
The statement added, "This strike aims to deter any Iranian plans to launch attacks in the future."
The attack near Baghdad International Airport on Friday killed Soleimani, along with the deputy head of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, Abu al-Mahdi al-Muhandis, according to Iraqi state television earlier in the day.
The attack came at a time when there are severe tensions between Washington and Tehran.
