BAGHDAD (AP) —

Iran has vowed “harsh retaliation” for a U.S. airstrike near Baghdad’s airport that killed its top general and the architect of its interventions across the Middle East. The killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, marks a major escalation in the standoff between Washington and Iran. Iran’s supreme leader warned that a “harsh retaliation is waiting” for the U.S. after the airstrike, calling Soleimani the “international face of resistance.” The killing, and any forceful retaliation by Iran, could ignite a conflict that engulfs the whole region, endangering U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria and beyond. The U.S. ordered its citizens to leave Iraq and closed the embassy in Baghdad.

Previously..

The Pentagon says the U.S. military has killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, at the direction of President Donald Trump. An airstrike killed Soleimani, architect of Iran’s regional security apparatus, at Baghdad’s international airport Friday, Iranian state television and three Iraqi officials said. The attack is expected to draw severe Iranian retaliation against Israel and American interests. The Defense Department says Soleimani “was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.” The strike also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, Iraqi officials said.