Iran’s holy city of Qom is to host a specialized exhibition on the life and works of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the former commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) who was assassinated in early January in an airstrike outside Baghdad International Airport on a direct order from US President Donald Trump.
The exhibition, which is to be attended by senior figures of the Resistance Front in Qom’s Masoumiyah Mosque and Seminary, is meant to commemorate the first martyrdom anniversary of Muhandis.
US terrorists assassinated Muhandis, along with General Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and their companions, by targeting their vehicles outside the Baghdad airport on January 3.
The act of terror was carried out under the direction of the outgoing White House occupant, with the US Defense Department, the Pentagon, taking responsibility for the strike.
Both distinguished commanders were viewed by the world's freedom-seeking people as the key figures in defeating Daesh, the world’s most notorious terrorist group, in the Middle East battles.
Several million people attended the funeral processions held for the commanders in the Iraqi cities of Kadhimiya, Baghdad, Karbala and Najaf as well as the Iranian cities of Ahvaz, Mashhad, Tehran, Qom and Kerman.
The US assassination of General Soleimani and Muhandis drew a wave of condemnation from officials and movements across the world, and triggered furious public protests in denunciation of the heinous act.
The IRGC fired volleys of ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq on January 8. According to the US Defense Department, more than 100 American forces suffered “traumatic brain injuries” during the counterstrikes. The Corps, however, says Washington uses the term to mask the number of the Americans, who perished during the retaliation.
Iran has also issued an arrest warrant and asked Interpol for help in detaining Trump, who ordered the assassination, and several other US military and political leaders behind the strike.
Anti-American sentiments have been running high in Iraq after the two senior commanders were assassinated in Baghdad, with Iraqi lawmakers unanimously passing a bill on January 5 that mandated the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Iraq.
Iraqi resistance groups have pledged to take up arms against US forces if Washington fails to comply with the parliamentary order.