Historian: Iraq and Iran come together in 'surprise' solidarity over Suleimani death
In a column for Middle East Eye, historian Pouya Alimagham has argued that "Iranians and Iraqis have come together in solidarity" over the death of Iranian Quds Force leader Qassem Suleimani.
"As with any military commander who fought in wars, Soleimani had allies and enemies. As such, there were those who welcomed his assassination - a welcome that CNN played on loop when a sparsely populated, spontaneous march in Syria's Idlib celebrated his demise.
"But the real surprise was the groundswell of solidarity that his death generated. His body was not immediately returned to Iran to receive burial rites; rather, he was kept in Iraq so that regular Iraqis and the militiamen he backed could take his coffin to Iraq’s shrine cities, including Najaf and Karbala, the hallowed grounds of Shia Islam.
"Throngs of Iraqis gathered to commemorate him and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the leader of the Kataib Hezbollah militia who was also killed in the US strike."