World

Iraq's parliament votes to remove foreign forces after US killing of top Iran general

January 6, 2020 4:29 pm

Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran's elite Quds Force, was killed in an airstrike at Baghdad's international airport. Source: Associated Press

The US military presence in the Middle East was thrown into jeopardy today.

This comes as Iraq’s parliament voted to expel US troops from their country while the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said the US military across the region “will pay the price” for killing a top Iranian general.

Hassan Nasrallah said that US bases, warships and soldiers in the Middle East were all fair targets after the US drone strike that killed General Qassem Soleimani, the architect of many of Iran’s regional military campaigns in recent years.

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The two developments were new signs of the backlash from Friday’s killing of Soleimani and a number of top Iraqi officials at the Baghdad airport, and further heightened tensions in a region already on high alert and bracing for an Iranian retaliation.