TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th January, 2020) The Canadian government has updated its travel advisory for Iraq following a US airstrike that killed Quds Force Commander, Qasem Soleimani, urging all Canadians to leave the country if possible.
"On January 3, 2020, an Iranian military commander and Iraqi paramilitary leaders were killed in a US airstrike near Baghdad International Airport. This attack has led to increased tensions in the region. The security situation could worsen with little warning. There is an increased threat of attacks against Western interests and of terrorist attacks in general. Consider leaving by commercial means if it is safe to do so," the advisory said on Friday.
The Canadian government advised those not able to leave to take extra precautions, including limiting all movement, and monitoring local media for breaking developments.
US President Donald Trump's decision to order an airstrike on Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Quds Force, has sparked tension across the middle east and sent thousands of Iranians to the streets mourning the death of the general and denouncing the United States and Israel.
The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have pledged that Soleimani's death will not go unavenged, in response to what they see as a US crime.
