Lets just get you right up to speed with what we know 2 leading militia commanders one iranian one iraqi have been killed in a u. S. Airstrike about 1. 51. 6 kilometers outside the bag that International Airport they were near an area where there was an antiterrorism unit an antiterrorism building was within a secure compound there the key casualty there is custom in the money killed by u. S. Forces people have been demonstrating their support of what has happened the joy at what has happened inside Baghdads Tahrir square lets just play you that video and give you a sense of the atmosphere right now in the iraqi capital back that. Was the the. The and. It. Was. And you have been watching pictures there of people in baghdad stuff or is square celebrating the killing of Senior Iranian commanded. By u. S. Forces on stan grant here in doha of course taking over this breaking coverage live coverage of this strike by American Forces inside iraq now weve had information confirmation from the
Developing plans to attack americans in the region, making the decision to take him out, in his words, all the more urgent. President trumps decision to remove soleimani from the battlefield saved american lives. It was a big action as he described it that would have put dozens if not hundreds of american lives at risk. We know it was imminent. This was an intelligent based assessment that drove our decisionmaking process. Last night was the time that we needed to strike to make sure that this imminent attack, that he was working actively, was disrupted. We have Team Coverage of this breaking story. Lets start with cnns ryan brown. Hes over at the pentagon with new information. What are you learning . Thats right, wolf. Sources are telling some of our cnn colleagues, jim sciutto, pam brown, and dana bash that a little bit more about the information that led to this strike. The threat. Secretary pompeo declined to get into the specifics. He had been traveling to multiple countries and a
Burial is expected tuesday in his hometown in the southeastern part of the country. Meanwhi meanwhile, tehran is threatening harsh revenge that prompted a warning from the u. S. President who said the u. S. Has identified 52 iranian sites it could hit if iran retaliated for soleimanis death. Privately, the u. S. Administration is telling congress it fears a reprisal from iran could come within weeks. Back in baghdad where fridays strike took place, the Iraqi Parliament is expected to convene an emergency session in about an hours time. An awful lot to talk about and cnn correspondents fanened out across the region standing by with the very latest. Jamana is in baghdad and Nic Robertson is in baghdad and Matthew Chance joining us for perspective from moscow. Just how concerned are people there that any escalation between the u. S. And iran will end up with iraq and the iraqi people in the middle of all of this . You know, this is the biggest concern, becky. You speak to so many people h
As president , i will never hesitate to defend the safety of the American People, you. [cheers and applause] so let this be a warning to terrorists. If you value your own life, you will not threaten the lives of our citizens. Leland President Trump touting the u. S. Airstrike that killed general Qassem Soleimani while speaking at a megachurch in florida. Church leaders also praying over the president , as you can see there, during that event. Welcome to americas news headquarters, 1 p. M. Eastern here in washington which makes it saturday night now in baghdad where that attack happened. Yeah. Lots of moving pieces. Interesting because we were hearing we thought it was going to be a quiet weekend when it came to leland we havent had a quiet weekend in a few years. Gillian great to be with you, leland, im gillian turner. President trump insisting at this same event that the u. S. Isnt looking for war with iran. Tehran is promising retribution for the u. S. Airstrike. Lawmakers here in wa
Powerful, accurate, lethal and fast. Under construction are many hypersonic missiles. The fact that we have this great military and equipment, however, does not mean we have to use it. We do not want to use it. Finally to the people and leaders of iran, we want you to have a future and a great future, one that you deserve, one of prosperity at home and harmony with the nations of the world, the United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it. The situation is far from resolved. The future of our relationship with iran and that region is in question. President trump created this most recent conflict when he ordered the assassination of soleimani. Calls into question whether he would do something similar again. This morning lawmakers are set to receive a briefing on the killing. The classified update will likely contain whatever evidence the administration is using to justify the attack. And considering the president walked us right up to the precipice of yet another war in