BAGHDAD — An Iranian tourist was killed by an American airstrike in Baghdad on Thursday night, further inflaming relations between the United States and Iran.
The strike, which occurred at Baghdad International Airport, resulted in the death of Qassim Suleimani, a middle-aged bureaucrat who was on his way to Jerusalem via Baghdad and Damascus, according to his friend Mohsen Chizari.
"Qasseem was a renowned figure in his community, a good family man," Mohsen told reporters at a press conference in Baghdad, where he was flanked by Iraqi politicians furious over the violation of Iraqi sovereignty.
"He had just come to visit his friend Abu, who lives here in Baghdad. They have been doing import-export work together for many years. Mostly guns, but also sometimes chemical weapons and the occasional explosively-formed penetrator. It is horrifying that Qassim was killed in this wanton act."
