Airstrike That Killed Suleimani Also Killed Powerf
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Posted On: 01/04/2020 5:29:21 PM
Airstrike That Killed Suleimani Also Killed Powerful Iraqi Militia Leader
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a lifelong ally of Iran, was the Iraqi deputy commander of the group overseeing militias, and long at odds with the United States.
The American airstrike that killed a powerful Iranian general in Iraq on Friday also killed an Iraqi militia leader who was one of Iran’s top lieutenants in Iraq and a veteran of battles against the United States and the Islamic State.
The death of the militia leader, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, alone would have sent shock waves through Iraq, even if Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the intelligence chief who led Iran’s Quds Force, had not died with him.
As the deputy commander of a loose coalition of militias, Mr. al-Muhandis oversaw a disparate military force that arose to help Iraq defeat the Islamic State but has since become a power unto itself, its members operating with significant independence, often at the behest of Iran. Mr. al-Muhandis was also a founder of the individual militia that was attacked by American airstrikes on Sunday and that led the assault on the American Embassy in Baghdad this week.
He is still considered heroic by many Iraqis for his ability to corral Iraq’s bickering militias into an effective fighting force against the Islamic State. In the vacuum that followed Saddam Hussein’s fall, he created new networks to undermine the American occupation. And when Iran sought to embed itself in Iraqi life, it was Mr. al-Muhandis, fluent in Persian and close to General Suleimani, who served as its reliable right hand.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/world/midd...andis.html
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a lifelong ally of Iran, was the Iraqi deputy commander of the group overseeing militias, and long at odds with the United States.
The American airstrike that killed a powerful Iranian general in Iraq on Friday also killed an Iraqi militia leader who was one of Iran’s top lieutenants in Iraq and a veteran of battles against the United States and the Islamic State.
The death of the militia leader, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, alone would have sent shock waves through Iraq, even if Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the intelligence chief who led Iran’s Quds Force, had not died with him.
As the deputy commander of a loose coalition of militias, Mr. al-Muhandis oversaw a disparate military force that arose to help Iraq defeat the Islamic State but has since become a power unto itself, its members operating with significant independence, often at the behest of Iran. Mr. al-Muhandis was also a founder of the individual militia that was attacked by American airstrikes on Sunday and that led the assault on the American Embassy in Baghdad this week.
He is still considered heroic by many Iraqis for his ability to corral Iraq’s bickering militias into an effective fighting force against the Islamic State. In the vacuum that followed Saddam Hussein’s fall, he created new networks to undermine the American occupation. And when Iran sought to embed itself in Iraqi life, it was Mr. al-Muhandis, fluent in Persian and close to General Suleimani, who served as its reliable right hand.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/world/midd...andis.html
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