The Quds Force, an elite unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, reported directly to the ayatollah and Soleimani was hailed as a heroic national figure. He was killed at Baghdad airport, along with other Iran-backed militia figures, early on Friday in a strike ordered by US President Donald Trump. Tweeting again on Friday, Mr Trump said Soleimani had "killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans... and was plotting to kill many more" and "should have been taken out many years ago". The commander had reportedly flown in from Lebanon or Syria. Read about our approach to external linking. After one attack in late December killed a U.S. contractor, the United States launched airstrikes against bases along the border with Syria used by the group Kataib Hezbollah, killing 25 militia members and injuring more than 50. But his story came to an end late Thursday when a U.S. airstrike near the Baghdad airport killed him and a number of Iraqi militia leaders. He also found allies among Iraq’s majority-Shiite population, some of whom backed Iran against the Sunni-dominated dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. Meanwhile, global oil prices have soared by more than 4% in the wake of the attack. VideoComposer with dementia meets students he inspired, 'The most wholesome thing on the internet', Drive-in movie bogged down by lockdown loos, Why Nigerian protesters are upset with Beyoncé, .css-orcmk8-HeadlineContainer{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:justify;-webkit-justify-content:space-between;-ms-flex-pack:justify;justify-content:space-between;}US election 2020: How Trump has changed the world.css-1dedj2h-Rank{-webkit-align-self:center;-ms-flex-item-align:center;align-self:center;color:#B80000;margin-left:3.125rem;}1, Coronavirus: US cases reach record high amid new wave of infections2, Osiris-Rex: Nasa probe risks losing asteroid sample after door jams3, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: 'Execution' video prompts war crime probe4, US Election 2020: Biden seeks to clarify remark on ending oil5, Virus to stay 'at least until next summer' - France's Macron6, US election 2020 polls: Who is ahead - Trump or Biden?7, Poland abortion ruling: Protests spread across the country9, Covid-19: Poland President Duda tests positive for virus10. The airstrike Friday morning killed not only Soleimani but also Jamal Jaafar Ibrahimi, an Iraqi militia commander better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. President Trump, who was in Florida at the time of the strike, tweeted an image of the American flag shortly after the news broke. A recent Pentagon estimate said that Iranian proxy forces killed at least 608 U.S. troops in Iraq between 2003 and 2011. .css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link{color:inherit;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited{color:#696969;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link:hover,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited:hover,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link:focus,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited:focus{color:#B80000;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link::after,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited::after{content:'';position:absolute;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;left:0;z-index:2;}Qasem Soleimani: Why kill him now and what happens next?