Publish Date: 8 January 2020 - 07:54

Kerman, Jan 8, IRNA – The body of the martyred great commander of the IRGC Quds Forces Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani was laid in rest in his hometown Kerman in southern Iran after the IRGC launched missile attacks on the US bases in Iraq early Wednesday morning to retaliate his assassination.

The burial ceremony was held in the presence of a huge number of people in Kerman, the birthplace of the brave commander.

The ceremony was postponed yesterday due to the huge crowd gathered for the ceremony which caused some problems including death and injury of a number of the mourners.

Lieutenant General Soleimani and the acting commander of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) - known as the Hashd al-Shaabi - Abu Mahdi Al-Mohandis, separately leaving Baghdad airport in two cars were targeted and assassinated on Friday upon the instruction of the US President Donald Trump.

The Iraqi media said that the US helicopters targeted both cars.

 The IRGC targeted the US airbase of Ain al-Assad in Anbar province in western Iraq on Wednesday in response to the US assassination of its great commander.

The IRGC said in a statement that it would release more details about the strike. 
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei commented on the martyrdom of the great commander of the IRGC's Quds Forces and said harsh and severe revenge is awaiting the criminals.

The IRGC said in the statement that the attacks came in response to the criminal and terrorist operation of the assignation of the commander of the IRGC Quds Forces Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani by the US occupying forces in Iraq.

It stressed that to retaliate the US criminal act, the IRGC targeted US airbase in Iraq with tens of surface-to-surface missiles.

The IRGC further warned the hegemonic and bloodthirsty US as the Great Satan that any evil act, any new measure and any king of aggression on its part will be met with an even harsher response.

The statement also warned “US allies that are providing bases to America's terrorist army that "any country serving as the origin of bellicose and aggressive attacks in any form against the Islamic Republic of Iran" will be targeted.

The IRGC also stated that Iran in no way sees the Zionist regime as separate from the criminal US regime.

It advised the US nation to recall their troops from the Middle East region to avoid any further damage and urged them not to risk the lives of the US military because of the policies of hate-mongering US regime.

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