NEW: America's top military officer says he is '100 percent' confident Qassem Soleimani, Iranian commander killed in yesterday's strike, approved attack on Iraqi military base last month that killed a U.S. contractor.
January 3, 2020, 9:09 PMA damaged car, purportedly belonging to Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al Muhandis, is seen near Baghdad International Airport, Iraq, Jan. 3, 2020, in this still image taken from video.
It was"designed and intended to kill, and [Soleimani] approved it," Milley said, adding,"I know that 100 percent." Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army General Mark Milley, is seen as Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks about airstrikes by the U.S. military in Iraq and Syria, at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., Dec. 29, 2019.U.S. officials have blamed Soleimani for the killing or wounding of thousands of Americans in Iraq and elsewhere for well over a decade. The Iranian commander, the leader of Iran's Quds Force -- a U.S.
Milley said the administration fully comprehends the strategic risks and consequences of killing Soleimani but"risks of inaction exceeded risks of action." The Pentagon is deploying roughly 3,500 more troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East in response to rising tensions with Iran. Those troops will join about 750 soldiers from the 82nd that already arrived in Kuwait, as well as 100 Marines who deployed at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to reinforce security there after violent protests on New Year's Eve from KH militiamen and supporters.
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