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A statue honoring Iran’s top commander, Major General Qassem Soleimani, was burned by unknown assailants hours after it was unveiled. Photo/Arabic News
Soleimani, who commanded the Quds Force, Iran’s elite foreign operations force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was killed on January 3, 2020 in Iraq. He was killed in a missile attack by a United States (US) drone on Baghdad airport along with his Iraqi allies.
Also read: General Soleimani Killed in Trump Era, Iran Demands Biden Accountability
On Wednesday morning, a statue of General Soleimani was unveiled in the southwestern Iranian city of Shahrekord.
But in the evening, the statue was burned. News agency ISNA calling it an “embarrassing act by strangers”.
“This dangerous crime was committed in the dark, just like other crimes were committed at night at Baghdad airport when Soleimani was killed,” senior cleric Mohammad Ali Nekounam said in a statement released on Monday. ISNA.
Iranian authorities have unveiled several statues dedicated to Soleimani since his assassination two years ago, and portraits of revered commanders adorn scenes across Iran.
National Broadcasting Board, IRIB, condemned the latest attack as an act of “insult”, which came as Iran marked the second anniversary of Soleimani’s assassination.
On Thursday, thousands of Iranians also paid tribute to the 250 “unknown martyrs” who died in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.
The ceremony was held throughout the country.
“We have always suffered the loss of martyrs, like Haji Qassem (Soleimani), because they all fought on the front lines with their hearts,” said Ali Asghar, a mourner in Tehran, as quoted by Reuters. AFP, Friday (7/1/2022).
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