See more photos and Stories from the U.S Drone Strike that killed Qasem Soleimani

What we're covering here

• Iranian military leader killed. Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force unit, was killed in an airstrike at Baghdad airport on Friday morning. The deputy head of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an Iran-backed paramilitary force, was also killed.
• Trump ordered the strike. The US has claimed responsibility for the strike, saying it was aimed at preventing future Iranian attack plans.
• Iran calls for revenge. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to avenge Soleimani whom he called a martyr.
• Ongoing conflict. The strike comes after PMF supporters and members attempted to storm the US embassy in Baghdad. 

"General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region," the Pentagon said in a statement, calling the strike "decisive defensive" action aimed at deterring future Iranian attacks.

The Pentagon blamed Soleimani and his Quds Force for attacks on coalition bases in Iraq in recent months, including the December 27 strike that culminated in the deaths of an American contractor and Iraqi personnel. He was also blamed for the December 31 US embassy attack in Baghdad, and in addition to the hundreds killed in his time as a commander, thousands more were wounded, the Pentagon said.

Source: CNN