Mourners in Iraq grieve for Soleimani, al-Muhandis

Thousands of mourners marched in a funeral procession Saturday through Baghdad for Iran's top general and Iraqi militant leaders, who were killed in a US airstrike.

General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds force and mastermind of its regional security strategy, was killed in an airstrike early Friday near the Iraqi capital's international airport. The attack has caused regional tensions to soar.

The mourners, mostly men in black military fatigues, carried Iraqi flags and the flags of Iran-backed militias that are fiercely loyal to Soleimani. They were also mourning Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a senior Iraqi militia commander who was killed in the same strike.

The procession began at the Imam Kadhim shrine in Baghdad, one of the most revered sites in Shiite Islam.

Mourners marched in the streets alongside militia vehicles in a solemn procession.