News - Middle East - Iraq: Iraq’s President Barham Salih says Iran’s top anti-terror commander General Qassem Soleimani rushed to the Arab country’s assistance at a critical time in the face of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

Salih made the remarks on Wednesday at a ceremony held in Baghdad by Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) or Hashd al-Sha’abi, marking the second anniversary of the US assassination of General Soleimani and his Iraqi trenchmate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy PMU head, two influential figures in the counter-terrorism fight in the region.

"Today, we have gathered to pay tribute to the great victory leaders who confronted the terrorist Daesh. We proudly remember the victory over Daesh and the foiling of its ominous plot. We achieved a triumph over Daesh thanks to the fatwa of the [religious] authority and the support of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani Sistani,” he said, referring to the religious decree by Iraq’s prominent Shia cleric in June 2014 that led to the establishment of the PMU.

“Along with our armed forces and citizens, Martyr Qassem Soleimani, the great Iranian commander, participated in the fight against Daesh and helped save our country from a dangerous terrorist campaign that had entangled us. He came to Iraq in difficult circumstances to defend the country, along with the children of Iraq, against Daesh terrorism,” he added.

In 2014, when Daesh unleashed its campaign of terror in Iraq, Iranian military advisers rushed to the aid of Iraqi armed forces on Baghdad’s request, helping them reverse Daesh’s gains and ultimately liberate their entire homeland from the US-sponsored terror outfit some three years later.

General Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), played a key role in eliminating Daesh in the region.

However, angered by the senior general’s gains in the battle against Daesh, the US assassinated him upon his arrival at Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020 on an official visit to Iraq. The attack also killed the commander’s companions, including Muhandis.

Source: Press TV