In a message to Iraqi Defense Minister Najah Hassan Ali al-Shammari on Friday, Brigadier General Hatami expressed his condolences over the assassination of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a US airstrike.
Paying tribute to the late deputy commander of Hashd al-Shaabi, the Iranian defense minister said al-Muhandis was martyred by the cruelest enemies of God after years of fight against terrorism.
Offering his condolences to the Iraqi government, military forces and nation, the Iranian minister underlined that martyrdom of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and IRGC Quds Force commander Major General Qassem Soleimani would strengthen unity and rapport between the Iranian and Iraqi nations.
Major General Soleimani, Deputy head of Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi, and a number of their entourage were killed in a strike by American drones near Baghdad International Airport in the early hours of Friday.