Iraqi court issues arrest warrant for outgoing US President Trump over Soleimani, Mohandis killing

The court’s ruling comes only four days after the first anniversary of the killing of the top Iranian commander along with his Iraqi companion.
A member of the PMF stands in front of a mural marking the US drone strike that killed Iranian General Qasim Solemani and a major PMF leader one year earlier, Jan. 2, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Ahmad al-Rubaye)
A member of the PMF stands in front of a mural marking the US drone strike that killed Iranian General Qasim Solemani and a major PMF leader one year earlier, Jan. 2, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Ahmad al-Rubaye)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An Iraqi court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for outgoing US President Donald Trump over the killing of Iraq’s top paramilitary leader Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis along with his Iranian comrade Qassim Soleimani in a US-launched drone strike in January 2020.

“The special judge in the Rusafa Investigative Court, who is in charge of the investigation of the assassination of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Deputy Chairman Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis and his companions, issued an arrest warrant against former US President Donald Trump in accordance with Article 406 of the Iraqi Penal Code,” according to a statement reported by Iraq’s state media Iraqi News Agency.

The concerned article stipulates that a “willful” killing of another person is punishable by death in various cases, including pre-planned murder and killing of public or government figures.

The court’s ruling comes only four days after the first anniversary of the killing of the top Iranian commander along with his Iraqi companions, including senior PMF head Mohandis near Baghdad International Airport.

Read More: PHOTOS: Crowd in Baghdad marks first anniversary of US drone strike that killed top Iranian general, militia leader

Up until his death, Soleimani was the long-time head of the Quds Force, the paramilitary arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), supervising and leading the country’s proxies across the Middle East. Muhandis, on the other hand, was the de-facto head of the PMF in Iraq.

Iranian and PMF authorities have repeatedly vowed to avenge the attack, sparking fear among many in Iraq that any acts of retaliation could escalate tensions between Washington and Tehran and lead to further conflict within their country’s borders. 

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany