On Monday, the International Cricket Council showed off the ‘Black Lives Matter’ logo the West Indies players will sport in their upcoming test series against England.
West Indies players will wear the Black Lives Matter logo on their jerseys in the upcoming #ENGvWI Test series ? pic.twitter.com/mjBTbMagX4
Soon, Indian cricket fans took to Twitter to question ICC on their reservation against former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni wearing the Balidan insignia on his wicketkeeping gloves which had apparently upset the ICC in 2019.
You didn't allow former India captain M S Dhoni to use Army Insignia on his gloves. Hypocrites https://t.co/KI67Z6HpAF
According to the global body governing cricket, it is against the regulations. When asked whether Dhoni could be punished for breaching ICC rules, Furlong said that at present Dhoni is only requested to remove the insignia and there will be no punishment for the first time offence.
The dagger insignia called the Balidan Badge is a distinct insignia of the special forces forming part of the Parachute Regiment. The badge can only be worn by Paramilitary Commandos. Dhoni, who was conferred an honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Parachute Regiment in 2011, was flaunting the Balidan Badge as a mark of respect for the Armed Forces. The former Skipper had also undergone training under the Para Brigade in 2015.
However, with ICC flaunting the ‘Black Lives Matter’ logo, Indian fans were visibly upset.
But they had problem with MS Dhoni wearing balidan badge on glove. Hypocrisy? https://t.co/OPe6buh18p
— Pradeep Bhandari(प्रदीप भंडारी) (@pradip103) June 29, 2020
Dhoni wearing the Balidan badge came months after the ghastly Pulwama attack where Pakistan-backed terrorist killed CRPF soldiers in a suicide attack. Following this, Indian armed forces destroyed terror camps in Balakot and the tensions at the border had escalated.
What ICC rules say
As per rule G.1 in ICC’s Clothing and equipment Rules and regulation guideline, “Players and team officials shall not be permitted to wear, display or otherwise convey messages through arm bands or other items affixed to clothing or equipment (“Personal Messages”) unless approved in advance by both the player or team official’s Board and the ICC Cricket Operations Department. Approval shall not be granted for messages which relate to political, religious or racial activities or causes. The ICC shall have the final say in determining whether any such message is approved. For the avoidance of doubt, where a message is approved by the player or team official’s Board but subsequently disapproved by the ICC’s Cricket Operations Department, the player or team official shall not be permitted to wear, display or otherwise convey such message in International Matches.”
Hence, what appears is that the ‘Black Lives Matter’ logo, which is related to ‘racial activity or cause’ is ‘preapproved’ by the ICC unlike Dhoni’s badge, which was asked to be removed.
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter is an organised movement in many countries of the world against the racial discrimination and police brutality against African-American people. It was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Trayvon Martin was a 17-year-old African-American boy from Florida who was shot dead by George Zimmerman after physical altercation. The movement regained momentum recently after Minneapolis cops killed an African-American man George Floyd by choking him even as he kept requesting that he can’t breathe.
The Madras High Court has summoned two police officers and a constable in Tamil Nadu in the Jayaraj and Bennix custodial death case. They have been asked to appear before the court on Tuesday at 10.30 am. The court has also asked the state to transfer the three cops, Deputy Superintendent of Police C Prathapan, Additional Deputy Superintendent of Police D Kumar and police constable Maharajan at Santhankulam in Tuticorin, in order to conduct a free and fair inquiry into the case.
The development came after the Judicial Magistrate accused the cops of trying to obstruct him while he was investigating the Jayaraj and Bennix custodial death case at Santhankulam in Tuticorin. According to the magistrate’s report to the court, the constable had allegedly told the magistrate that no one could harm them. “You cannot do anything to us,” constable Maharajan had reportedly said.
Madras High court notes cops interfering with investigation
The High Court noted that the magistrate’s report “clearly shows the district police administration is doing everything to prevent him from proceeding with the inquiry”. It also said the constable had made disparaging remarks.
The Judicial Magistrate had been tasked to investigate the death of the father and son-duo in police custody in Tuticorin after it generated a huge outrage in Tamil Nadu.
3 discrepancies between the FIR filed by Tuticorin police and the CCTV footage
Earlier in the day, Times Now reported glaring discrepancies between the FIRs filed by Tuticorin police and the CCTV footage accessed by the news channel suggesting that the father-son duo did not argue or abuse the police, or roll on the floor as the Police had claimed in the FIR.
Contrary to the claims made by the Police, the CCTV footage suggests that firstly, there was no crowd in front of the shop as alleged. Secondly, there is also no evidence from the CCTV that the duo threatened or abused the Police. Thirdly, the Police claimed that the injuries were self-sustained and a cause of the two of them rolling on the floor. Again, there is no evidence of it from the CCTV footage.
The CCTV footage suggests that the father and son were cooperating fully with the Police and walking towards the Police van in peace and contrary to the claims of the Police in the FIR, there isn’t the slightest hint of aggressive.
Custodial Death causes great outrage
P Jayaraj and his son J Bennix reportedly died after they were picked up by the Police for opening their mobile accessories shop open on June 19 when the lockdown was still in force in the state. It is alleged that they were tortured in custody, which led to their death in the hospital later.
Allegations of sexual torture has been levelled against the Police. According to eyewitnesses, their genitalia was also damaged and they were thrashed brutally. People on social media claim that the policemen shoved batons inside the anus of the father and son several times. The Madras High Court has ordered a probe into the incident and Chief Minister Palaniswami has assured that strict action will be taken based on the findings of the probe.
Amidst border standoff with China, India is all set to strengthen its air power with the induction of Dassault-made Rafale fighter jets which are scheduled to arrive in India by July end.
India will receive the first batch of 4 to 6 Rafale fighter jets, armed with the Meteor air-to-air missiles and Scalp cruise missiles. The development came after India had asked France to speed up the delivery schedule of the 36 Rafales, under the deal inked in September 2016, even as tensions continue to simmer between India and China along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh.
According to sources, the batch of allotment of the Rafale jets, flown by Indian pilots, are likely to arrive at the Ambala air base on July 27 after a stopover at the Al Dhafra air base near Abu Dhabi. The fighter jets are likely to undergo mid-air refueling through IL-78 tanker aircraft of IAF during their flight from UAE to India.
The delivery of Meteor missiles, which have a strike range of 120 to 150 kilometres and can foil any missiles launched by Pakistani or Chinese jets, along with the 300-KM range Scalp air-to-ground cruise missiles have already started, reports claimed.
According to the original delivery schedule, Rafales were to arrive in India by May this year, with the remaining of the 36 jets to be delivered by April 2022. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic across the world, the delivery of the first batch of Rafale fighter jets got delayed by over two months. India had now asked France to abridge the entire delivery schedule, on account of the rising tensions along the LAC with China.
Rafales are set to play a significant role in further augmenting capabilities of the IAF and add to its superiority which it currently enjoys over the People’s Liberation Army-Air Force(PLAAF). The operational dynamics for achieving “air dominance” will change with the induction of the Rafale fighter jets, armed with Meteor beyond visual ranger(BVR) missiles, which are powered by Ramjet engines to fly at Mach 4 speeds.
IAF has already mobilised Sukhoi-30MKI, MiG-29 and Jaguar fighters into the forward air bases along the LAC to serve as a deterrence against Chinese misadventure.
In October 2019, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh took formal delivery of the first Rafale jet built for the Indian Air Force (IAF) at the Dassault Aviation’s final assembly facility in Merignac during his visit to France for the 2nd India-France ministerial-level annual defence dialogue.
According to earlier reports, 18 Rafales will be deployed at the Ambala(17 Golden Arrows squadron) and Hasimara (101 Falcons squadrons) airbases to combat the threat emanating from Pakistan and China.
The Indian government has red-flagged usage of 59 China-linked apps, including TikTok as being a threat to national security. The Ministry of Information Technology, invoking its power under section 69A of Information Technology Act, with the relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules 2009 has ordered a block on the use of 59 apps saying that these apps are “engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order”.
The ministry in its press release said that it has recently been receiving complaints from various sources including several reports about the misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have a location outside India. The compilation of these data poses which threat to national security and sovereignty and is a matter of deep concern said the statement.
“The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) has also received many representations from citizens regarding security of data and breach of privacy impacting upon public order issues,” the press release mentioned.
59 Chinese apps including TikTok banned by GOI
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) stated that the 59 apps that have been banned by the Government of India.
List of 59 Chinese apps banned in India
This development has come at a time when some Indians are already calling for a ban on Chinese products. Additionally, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has released a list of 500 Chinese items for boycotting. The list includes FMCG products, consumer durables, toys, furnishing fabrics, textiles, builder hardware, footwear, apparel, kitchen items, among others. CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that the aim is to reduce import of Chinese-finished goods by $13 billion by December 2021.
The Border Security Force on Monday exposed a cruel method of smuggling adopted by cow smugglers along the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal after they retrieved a live calf tied up and hidden inside a carcass floating in the river.
According to the officials, a river patrol of the border-guarding force took notice of a drifting carcass in the Mahananda river in the Malda district on Sunday, and on investigation found a live cattle inside it.
“When the carcass of the animal was cut open, a calf whose legs were tied with ropes and eyes covered with a piece of cloth was recovered,” the BSF said.
The BSF further added that the carcass was strapped with water hyacinth (a type of water grass) and banana trunk to keep it afloat. The nose of the animal was visible from a perforation made in the carcass, the BSF official revealed.
“Cow smugglers along the border have started embracing the cruellest and ruthless methods of smuggling the cattle across and along the border,” the BSF said, adding that the force has “intensified its vigil” to uncover the unconventional and new methods adopted by the cow smugglers amidst the monsoons when the rivers are in spate and the smugglers use it to their advantage to aggressively transport the cattle to the Bangladesh side.
The operation was carried out by the troops of the 44th battalion of the Border Security Forces entrusted with the responsibility of patrolling the India-Bangladesh border in the region. Talking about its strategy to guard the border, the BSF said that the South Bengal Frontier of the BSF keeps a vigil along the 900 kilometres of the border, backed by a robust strategy and reliable intelligence inputs. The total length of the India-Bangladesh border is about 4,096 KMs. A senior BSF officer also asserted that the force is in contact with the local police for effective coordination to stop the menace of smuggling along the front.
Eight smugglers with nine cattle heads caught along Assam-Bangladesh border
In a separate case, eight cattle smugglers along with nine cattle heads were nabbed by the Border Security Force from Assam South Salmara Mankachar district along Indo-Bangladesh border.
As per reports, acting on specific inputs, the BSF officials positioned at Sishumara and Boreralga border outpost carried out an operation along the riverine areas along the India-Bangladesh border on Sunday night and apprehended six cattle smugglers. A top BSF officials disclosed that the BSF had retrieved six cattle heads while the arrested persons were trying to smuggle cattle to Bangladesh.
The arrested cattle smugglers were identified as Meher Saiful Haque, Rafiqul Islam, Rafiqul Islam, Safidur Islam, Mohammad After Ali, and Nuruddin and they all hailed from South Salmara Mankachar District.
In yet another operation, the BSF officials had arrested two more cattle smugglers along with three cattle heads near Brahmaputra riverine areas of Sishumura when they were trying to illegally transport the cattle to Bangladesh.
Religious persecution and forced conversion continues unabated in the terror state of Pakistan. Despite repeated appeals by the Indian government, the Pakistani government has been doing little to save its religious minorities from the atrocities being meted out at them almost every other day. According to latest reports, 102 Hindus have been allegedly forcibly converted to Islam in the Golarchi district which falls under Badin district of Sindh province, Pakistan.
According to a report by Times Now, 102 Hindus who were forcefully converted, included men, women and children. This was not all, it has also been reported that all the idols of Hindu gods kept in a local temple were destroyed and the premises was converted into a mosque.
Forced conversions of Hindus in Pakistan
This is not the first time that such an incident has come to light. On May 17, in a viral video, a Hindu woman belonging to the Bheel tribe in Nasarpur village in Matiari in the Sindh province of Pakistan could be seen putting up a strong resistance against forced conversion to Islam. A leader of Tablighi Jamaat, an Islamic Missionary Movement, in Sindh, had allegedly kidnapped a Hindu boy and had demanded conversion to Islam as a ransom for releasing him. Besides, houses belonging to Bheel Hindus had been ransacked and vandalised. Their properties have been illegally grabbed and forced to vacate their own houses.
The mother of the boy could be heard demanding the release of his son. She reiterated, “We will prefer to die but never ever convert to Islam.” It must be mentioned that the kidnappers of the Hindu boy have been seeking the conversion of Hindu families to Islam as a ransom to release the boy.
Prior to this, we reported how a Hindu couple was forcibly converted to Islam at a mosque in the city of Nawabshah in the Sindh district of Pakistan on May 15 . The conversion was undertaken by a local Imam (Islamic Cleric) named Hamid Qadri. Another Muslim leader associated with the Jamaat Ahle Sunnat was also present at the time of the forced conversion. The couple was handed cash following their conversion to Islam. These are only a few of the many incidents of atrocities which the Hindus and other minorities in Pakistan are having to go through every day.
While the repression of Uighurs Muslims in Xinjiang in China at the hands of the Communist Party is well known, Islamists in Kashmir were recently spotted cheering for the PLA during the ongoing Indo-China conflict. However, recent developments in Xinjiang demonstrate the stupidity of Muslim support for China.
A report by the Associated Press sheds light on the reasons and measures taken by the Chinese State to ensure a ‘demographic genocide.’ With several ‘draconian measures’ in place, China has ensured a significant decline in the birth rates of Uighurs (mostly comprising of Muslims).
The measures include regular pregnancy tests, sterilisation, abortion, forced insertion of IUDs (intrauterine devices), huge penalties, and incarceration in detention camps for having three or more children. Reportedly, the number of people held up in such camps range from hundreds and thousands of ethnic minorities to millions.
The coercive action has led to a drastic fall of 60% in birth rates amongst Uighurs between 2015 and 2018, in Hotan and Kashgar regions. Compared to a 4.2% dip in birth rates nationwide, Xinjiang witnessed a decline of 24% in live births in 2019. Islamists in Kashmir, who appear to be fans of China, don’t appear to have factored in the possibility that a similar fate could befall them if they ever found themselves in Chinese territory.
According to researcher Adrian Zenz, the billions of dollars invested by the Chinese government in tightening the noose around population control has transformed Xinjiang to one of the slowest growing regions in China. “This kind of drop is unprecedented….there’s a ruthlessness to it. This is part of a wider control campaign to subjugate the Uighurs”, the researcher concluded.
Drastic decline in birth rates in Hotan, Kashgar and Xinjiang regions of China (Courtesy: Associated Press)
Majority Han Chinese Vs Minority Uighurs
Reportedly, under China’s ‘one-child policy’, the majority Han Chinese were at the receiving end of government’s draconian measures. Around the same time, the ethnic minorities such as the Uighurs enjoyed quotos in government jobs, enhanced grade points in college entrance exams, and eased birth control restrictions. Ethnic minorities were reportedly allowed to have two kids or even three if they belonged to rural areas.
With the rise of the incumbent Chinese Premier Xi Jinping to power, the government sought to implement ‘equal family planning policies’ for everyone, including the ethnic minorities in a bid to stabilise birth rates in the country. As such, the Han Chinese were allowed to have two kids and three, in case they belonged to the countryside. However, as per the report, discrimination was meted out to the ethnic minorities while the ethnic majority was spared. The Han Chinese were no longer forced to abort or undergo sterilisation or face detentions for having more than 3 kids while Uighur Muslims were punished for legally having three children in Xinjiang.
The Torture of Uighur Muslims
According to a 2017 report by the head of the Institute of Sociology at the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, the increasing Muslim population in Xinjiang contributed to increased political risk, poverty and extremism. One of the reasons cited behind their high birth rates was the Islamic belief that the foetus was a gift from God.
However, experts are of the view that it is a strategy of the Communist Party of China (CCP) to strip Uighurs of their religious and ethnic identity and assimilate them into the dominant Han Chinese ethnicity. While Uighur Muslims are often subjected to re-educational programs, forced labour, and digital surveillance, their children are indoctrinated in orphanages.
Reportedly, Uighur Muslims have been the subject of a massive crackdown since 2017. They were held up in prisons for praying, travelling abroad, or even using social media under the pretext of containing ‘ religious extremism’. According to researcher Zenz, two county and townships have directed authorities to leave no ‘blind spots’, contain illegal births, and decrease fertility levels.
As such officials began hunting for pregnant women and directing ethnic minorities to attend flag-raising ceremonies where they were threatened with detention and dire consequences if they failed to register their children. Associated Press reported that the Chinese government issued notices to reward people who reported illegal childbirth. Following flag-raising ceremonies, women were escorted to special rooms fitted with ultrasound scanners to detect pregnancy or take gynecology tests.
“The intention may not be to fully eliminate the Uighur population, but it will sharply diminish their vitality, making them easier to assimilate,” informed Darren Byler, an expert from the University of Colorado. As for Joanne Smith Finley who works at Newcastle University, the draconian measures undertaken by the Chinese government amount to a ‘slow, painful and creeping genocide’.
Mass sterilisations in Xinjiang of Uighurs, post 2016 (Courtesy: Associated Press)
Chinese government hellbent on ‘population control’
As per leaked data accessed by the Associated Press, 149 out of 484 people serving time in detention camps in Karakax county, Xinjiang, were kept there for having ‘too many children.’ In 2017, the Chinese government also tripled the fines levied on couples for violating the government-sanctioned rules of not having more than 3 kids. Even though fines are equally levied on the Han Chinese, only Uighurs are sent to detention camps.
In a bid to stimulate demographic change in Xinjiang, China is providing subsidies to the Han Chinese migrants to settle in the province. Besides, the government is pushing for inter-marriage between the Uighurs and the Han Chinese and rewarding them with housing and household amenities such as TV, refrigerator, and washing machine. “It links back to China’s long history of dabbling in eugenics….you don’t want people who are poorly educated, marginal minorities breeding quickly. What you want is your educated Han to increase their birth rate, ” informed James Leibold, a specialist in China at La Trobe, Melbourne.
Former detainees revealed that they were often force-fed pills, and injected with fluids. As such, several women either felt sick or stopped getting periods. When some of the detainees left China and underwent a medical inspection, to their horror, they found that they had been rendered sterile. Associated Press reported that the detainees were given pregnancy prevention injections or hormonal medication named Depo-Provera, a family planning measure. While the use of intrauterine devices decreased all over China, they rose by 60% to 3,30,000 in 2018 from 2,00,000 in 2014.
Radical Islamists in Kashmir bat for China
Following the violent clash between the Indian and Chinese forces at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh on June 15, many radical Muslims from Kashmir were seen cheering for China and looking towards China as a country that might help them in their nefarious designs. However, Omar Abdullah had sounded off a caution to the radicals saying that China is no ally of Muslims considering the plight of Uighur Muslims.
Interestingly, he disabled replies to his tweet which warned Kashmiri Muslims. Clearly, Abdullah was sure of the abuse he might face at the hands of the radical Kashmiris and had thus, disabled the responses to his tweet and temporarily deleted his account.
Pakistan, too, calls China its all-weather ally and its Prime Minister Imran Khan has gone out f his way to give China a free pass on its treatment of Uyghur Muslims. However, at the same time, he blamed ‘Hindu nationalism’ for allegedly oppressing Indian Muslims.
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has sought investigation into the June 25 attack on the premises of IFB Agro facility in South 24 Parganas’ Noorpur.
Events at IFB units at Dhankuni and Noorpur call for investigation @HomeSecretaryWB@WBPolice with focus on role of District Magisterates and Police.
State and Non State Actors cannot be allowed to be law unto themselves.
— Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) June 28, 2020
According to the reports, armed goons attacked their distilleries in the Noorpur, South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal. The attack took place on 25th June morning. The goons forced the facility to shut down and it has not reopened yet. The company sent a letter to the NSE, informing them about the incident.
In the letter to National Stock Exchange, Ritesh Agarwal, DGM, IFB Agro Industries Limited, said that more than 150 armed goons entered the premises and beat up the security guards. They held the employees and workers hostage and damaged computers, medical rooms, CCTV cameras and other areas of the factory. The employees were asked to leave the premises on gunpoint before 12 PM. The factory was forced to shut down.
Letter to NSE providing details about the attack. (image courtesy: @jdhankhar1 on Twitter)
The company has sought support from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Finance, Commerce and Industry Minister of the State of West Bengal. They stated that they are waiting for a better environment to restart the plant. IFB’s share prices have dipped since the attack.
Governor Dhankhar in a tweet urged the state Home Ministry to undertake a probe and ensure a conducive environment for business establishment to operate.
IFB Agro is one of the top ten distilleries and wineries in India. It mainly deals with the manufacturing and distribution of alcohol, packaging of processed marine foods, and bottling alcoholic beverages. It has bottling plants and distilleries in Hooghly, Kolkata, Purulia, South 24 Parganas, Burdwan, Murshidabad, and North Bengal.
In a bizarre statement, the Deputy Chairman of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee, Suryakant Dhasmana has claimed that the deadly Chinese coronavirus is sent by Lord Krishna. Quoting the Bhagwad Gita, Uttarakhand’s Congress vice-president said that since Lord Krishna has said that he is within us and that coronavirus is set by himself as it is ‘Ka se corona, Ka se Krishna‘.
Speaking in Hindi, the Congress leader continued his bizarre rant: ” ‘क’ से कृष्ण और ‘क’ से कोरोना वायरस होता है”. According to the Devanagari script, the word “Krishna” is spelt with the Hindi letter ‘क’ and “Corona” is also spelt with the Hindi letter ‘क’. So, here the Congress leader makes a bizarre analogy saying that since Krishna (कृष्ण) also begins with Hindi letter ‘क’ and so does Corona (कोरोना), the deadly pathogen has been sent to the world by Lord Krishna.
Dhasmana was responding to a question on resuming of the Char Dham Yatra in the state. He alleged that since the infection is spreading so fast, the Yatra should not be resumed. He claimed that if Yatra is resumed, the number of pilgrims will increase and that may lead to infection. He then went on to say that Lord Krishna has given us coronavirus. He cited Bhagwad Gita for the same and said that Lord Krishna said that he created the universe, he is also responsible for the virus.
Recently, Uttarakhand Congress President Pritam Singh, Vice President Suryakant Dhasmana and 163 other party members had been booked for holding a protest here without permission, in Dehradun. As per the police, they were protesting over fuel price rise and were not following social distancing amid COVID-19 pandemic. According to City Kotwali Station House Officer SS Negi, an FIR was registered against Congress leaders under Section 147, 188, 269, and 270 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Iran has issued an arrest warrant against US President Donald Trump and 30 others. The Islamic nation has decided to ‘prosecute’ the US president and others for the drone attack that killed Gen Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian general in Baghdad.
Iran’s state-run IRNA reported that the accused would face murder and terrorism charges. Though there is no possibility of Trump getting arrested, these charges have heightened tension between the two nations as Trump has already withdrawn America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.
BREAKING: Iran has issued an arrest warrant for President Donald Trump over the killing of General Qasem Soleimani, according to reports by an Iran news agency.
Tehran prosecutor Ali Alqasimehr said that the accusation had been made against Trump and 30 others for their role in the drone strike. He did not mention any name other than Trump but said that Iran would continue to pursue his prosecution even after Trump leaves the President’s post.
Iran requests a ‘red notice’ against Trump
Alqasimehr said that Iran had requested the Interpol for a ‘red notice’ to be put out for Trump and others. It denotes the highest level of arrest request issued by Interpol. A red notice enables local authorities of other countries to arrest a particular suspect. Though it does not mandate extradition or even arrest, a red notice works in limiting the travelling of suspects.
Interpol has not issued any statement regarding Iran’s request and it is highly unlikely that it will. But the warrant indicates the further deterioration of ties between the US and Iran.
Soleimani was killed on 3rd January 2020 by the US. He was the leader of the Revolutionary Guard’s expeditionary Quds Force. Iran had retaliated by firing 15 ballistic missiles targeting American troops in Iraq.
