BAGHDAD, IRAQ — General Qassim Soleimani, head of Iran's expeditionary Quds Force, was killed early Friday by a U.S. drone that fired missiles into his convoy near Baghdad International Airport. <br /><br />The U.S. military has confirmed that it carried out the attack. <br /><br />The Times of Israel reports that a MQ-9 Reaper drone fired four missiles into two cars and destroyed the vehicles on the airport's access road.<br /><br />Citing local media sources, the paper reports that the blast tore Soleimani apart and the general was later identified by the ring he wore on his hand.<br /><br />The strike killed Soleimani, his son-in-law and five Iranian Revolutionary Guards members.<br /><br />According to the New York Times, several Tehran-backed Iraqi militia leaders in the convoy were also killed.<br /><br />The Times of Israel reported 10 fatalities for the airstrike.<br /><br />The Washington Examiner reports that the MQ-9 drone was favored for its quiet propellers and loitering capabilities.<br /><br />Citing debris analysis by independent observers, Forbes reports that the missiles utilized could be the JAGM, a missile type that adds advanced sensors to the Hellfire missile.
