US officials confirm responsibility for missile attack at Baghdad airport, killing Qassim Soleimani

Strikes have been carried out against two targets linked to Iran in Baghdad on Thursday, US officials told Reuters earlier.

Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed late on Thursday in an air strike on their convoy in Baghdad airport, an Iraqi militia spokesman told Reuters. "The American and Israeli enemy is responsible for killing the mujahideen Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Qassem Soleimani," said Ahmed al-Assadi, a spokesman for Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces umbrella grouping of Iran-backed militias.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, declined to give any further details, however, in more recent trade, Iraqi State TV tonight is reporting that Qassim Soleimani, leader of Iran’s Quds Force, the elite unit of the Revolutionary Guards, was killed in US airstrike near Baghdad.

Market implications

If confirmed, this could be one of the most seismic events in the Middle East in years, which has brought a threat of reprisal and should be a supporting factor for the price of oil. WTI has spiked to a session high of $61.72 on the news from a low of $61.10.