Iranian general's funeral has protests against the United States

Thousands of Iraqis gathered on Saturday in Baghdad for the funeral of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and a militia leader killed in Iraq by an American drone. The public chanted slogans against the US government and burned US flags. Soleimani's followers shouted "Death to the United States!" In Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiya during the funeral procession.

The murder of Soleimani, the architect of Iran's Middle East policy, and militia leader Abu Mehdi Al Muhandis, Hashd Al Shaabi's number two and considered the man of Iran in Baghdad, raises fears that a new conflict will ensue in Iraq. region. The attack near Baghdad airport completely destroyed two vehicles and left a total of 10 dead, five Iraqi and five Iranian. Iran has promised "a harsh revenge at the appropriate time and place."

The bodies of the 10 victims will be moved from Kazimiya to the so-called Green Zone, a neighborhood under strict security measures and home to government institutions and various embassies, including the US embassy, ​​which on Tuesday was attacked by Hashd supporters. .

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi also attended the funeral, as did Hadi Al Ameri, head of pro-Iranian forces in the Iraqi parliament, former Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki and several heads of pro-Iranian Shiite factions.

After the funeral, the bodies will be transferred to Kerbala and Najaf, two Shiite holy cities south of the capital. Al Mouhandis will be buried in Iraq and Soleimani's body will be transferred to Iran, where he will be buried Tuesday in his hometown of Kerman.

The Iranian authorities have decreed three days of official mourning in memory of Soleimani.