Mourners weep and beat chests as coffins of those killed in US drone strike pass through Baghdad
In a wide Baghdad street shaded by tall eucalyptus trees, thousands of weeping, chanting mourners thronged pick-up trucks and ambulances bearing the coffins of the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani and his close Iraqi associates, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and others, killed in a US drone strike that threatens to remake the region.
Grief mingled with rage in the crowd, borne along by chants of “Oh Suleimani your blood won’t be shed in vain”, and the rhythms of a slow funeral march struck by a military band. An honour guard in long red tunics and white pith helmets escorted the dead; beyond them thousands of civilian mourners in black walked beside others in the combat fatigues of their militia units. They were gearing up to trade grieving for vengeance.