Thousands march in Baghdad to mark anniversary of Iran general's assassination

Gen Qassem Soleimani and a senior Iraqi militia leader was killed in a US drone strike last year

BAGHDAD:

Thousands of mourners held a mock funeral procession to mark a year to the assassination of Iran’s top general and a senior Iraqi militia leader in a US drone strike that heightened fears of a military escalation in the region.

The mourners marched towards the capital’s airport on Saturday where the assassination of Gen Qassem Soleimani and senior Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis took place, France 24 reported.

Soleimani's killing dramatically ratcheted up tensions in the region and brought the US and Iran to the brink of war.

The scene of the drone strike was turned into a shrine-like area sealed off by red ropes, with mourners carrying candles and photos of Soleimani and al-Muhandis in the middle.

The road was lined with tents that served food and drinks for those who walked the highway, as the shrapnel marks were still visible on the asphalt and walls in the area.

Soleimani headed Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, responsible for the Islamic Republic’s foreign operations and frequently shuttled between Iraq, Lebanon and Syria.

The procession came as Iraq's military said that explosives experts with its naval forces successfully dismantled a mine that was discovered stuck to an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf two days earlier.

Iraqi authorities have opened an investigation into the incident according to statement on Saturday.

No group has claimed responsibility for placing the mine.