Thousands Chant 'Death To America' At Funeral Of Soleimani

Thousands chant 'Death to America!' at funeral of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani

By ROSS IBBETSON and CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE  and KEITH GRIFFITH and EMILY GOODIN and NIKKI SCHWAB FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

• Thousands of furious mourners packed the streets of Baghdad on Saturday for Soleimani's funeral
• Processions were also held for Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an Iraqi militia commander who died with Soleimani 
• Flags of Muhandis' pro-Iran militia Kataeb Hezbollah, which besieged the US embassy Tuesday, were flown 
• Kataeb Hezbollah has been blamed for a spate of attacks on US personnel and bases in Iraq in recent weeks 
• Trump said yesterday he did not order the death of Soleimani to start a war but to stop one 

• Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed revenge and 'Jihad' for the bitter loss of his general 

Thousands of furious mourners thronged in the streets of Baghdad today during funeral processions for the slain Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and an Iraqi militia commander who died with him during yesterday's US strike.

They chanted 'Death to America' and 'America is the Great Satan' as they walked beside the coffins of Soleimani, architect of Iran's global military strategy, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Kataeb Hezbollah chief, in Baghdad. 

The pair had been riding in a two-vehicle convoy which was decimated by three missiles from an American MQ-9 Reaper Drone in the early hours of Friday outside Baghdad International Airport.

The strike - which also killed four more Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards and five members of Iraq's pro-Iran paramilitary network - infuriated Tehran, who vowed jihad on America. 

Meanwhile Iraq, whose prime minister attended the funerals today, threatened to order the expulsion of all US troops from the country after what it called 'a brazen violation of Iraq's sovereignty.' 

President Donald Trump has said that he ordered the killing of Soleimani to prevent war, adding that the commander was plotting 'imminent and sinister' attacks against Americans. 

Iranians burn US and Israeli flags during an anti-US protest over the killings

Mourners surround a car carrying Soleimani's coffin

Thousands of mourners pack the streets of Baghdad on Saturday to mourn Soleimani and Muhandis 

Thousands of mourners pack the streets  on Saturdayfor the funeral procession 

Mourners in the Iraqi capital today carried posters of Soleimani and flags of Muhandis's Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah militia, which has committed brazen attacks against US bases in recent months, climaxing with a siege of the US embassy on Tuesday. 

The procession began at the Imam Kadhim shrine in Baghdad, one of the most revered in Shia Islam before crowds headed south to a point near the Green Zone, the high-security district home to government offices and foreign embassies, including America's.   

Meanwhile thousands of angry demonstrators stood outside the UN offices in Iran's capital, demanding retribution for the killing of Soleimani.