Iraqi protesters blast U.S. for violating sovereignty on 3rd anniversary of deadly drone strike

BAGHDAD, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Iraqis on Tuesday rallied to mark the third anniversary of the assassination of two Iraqi and Iranian commanders in a U.S. drone attack, condemning the U.S. terror act and its violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

On the al-Tahrir Square in the capital Baghdad, scores of Iraqis held high the pictures of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chief of Iraq's paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces, and Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

Both Soleimani and al-Muhandis, who played important roles in the war against the extremist Islamic State (IS) militants, were assassinated in the U.S. drone attack on a convoy of vehicles near the Baghdad International Airport on Jan. 3, 2020.

The Iraqi protesters denounced the United States for creating chaos or disasters in Iraq, which was invaded by the U.S. forces in 2003, and even all over the world in the name of "protecting human rights."

"They (Americans) target a leader inside our country. (Therefore) there is no sovereignty. Not even the airspace belongs to Iraq. They (U.S. aircraft) enter our airspace and strike our leaders," Ahmed Kadhim, a fitness trainer, told Xinhua.

He said the airstrike was a flagrant violation of Iraq's sovereignty, stressing that the United States is an "undemocratic and inhumane country".

"America is the creator of terrorism, and it is the country of chaos and wants to spread chaos all over the world," Kadhim added.

Sadid Abdul-Ghani, a retired government employee, told Xinhua that the illegal airstrike that assassinated Soleimani and al-Muhandis was a flagrant violation of Iraq's sovereignty, Iraqis' human rights and all international laws.

"This is a painful terrorist act ... It violates human rights in this airstrike and in other acts" that spread terrorism in Iraq and other countries, Abdul-Ghani said.

He said the United States has been bringing about chaos, internal fight, instability and economic crisis to Iraq and other countries. "By this airstrike, the United States aimed to dominate Iraq and the region and to control the world," he added.

Ahmed Salim, a Baghdad resident, condemned the U.S. airstrike that killed Soleimani and al-Muhandis, saying Washington "wanted to dominate Iraq."

"It claims that it fights terrorism, but it committed a terrorist crime at dawn on Jan. 3, 2020," he said.

Also on Tuesday, the Iraqi Hashd Shaabi held a memorial service at the site of the airstrike on a road near the Baghdad International Airport, which was attended by many Iraqis.

"The enemies were disappointed, as they thought that by making people absent and killing leaders, the will of nations would be broken, but they missed that the martyrs are the makers of the glory of every nation," Falih al-Fayyadh, head of the Hashd Shaabi commission, said in a speech.

"The assassination of the two leaders, al-Muhandis and Soleimani, was orchestrated by (former U.S. President Donald) Trump, but it will not be long before we see him in the dustbin of history," al-Fayyadh added.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani said in a tweet that "it is necessary to recall the leaders of victory and their heroism in confronting the most violent extremist terrorist group (IS) known to our contemporary history."

He said the assassination of the two leaders motivated the Iraqi government to work to "consolidate sovereignty and work for an Iraq that is independent in its policies and capable of protecting its people."

The U.S. airstrike that killed Soleimani and al-Muhandis sparked tension and reprisal attacks between Iran and the United States on Iraqi soil.

Two days after the airstrike in 2020, the Iraqi parliament passed a resolution requiring the government to end the presence of foreign forces in the country.

On Dec. 29, 2021, then Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi confirmed the end of the U.S.-led coalition's combat mission in Iraq after the withdrawal of their forces from the country.