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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
London- Asharq Al-Awsat

Iran Says It Foiled Plot to Kill Quds Chief Soleimani

In this Feb. 11, 2016 file photo, Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, center, attends an annual rally commemorating the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

Iran´s semi-official Fars news agency claimed authorities foiled an assassination attempt against the head of the Revolutionary Guard´s foreign wing, or Quds Force, last month.

Thursday´s says the attempt against Gen. Qassim Soleimani occurred in September, when Soleimani planned to attend a religious ceremony in the southeastern Kerman province.

It said attackers had planned to plant nearly 500 kilograms, about 1,102 pounds, of explosives in an underground tunnel beneath where Soleimani would have been.

The report didn´t elaborate on number of the suspects but claimed they were linked to Israeli and Arab intelligence services.

Soleimani, the architect of Iran´s regional entrenchment, has been one of the most influential commanders of the Revolutionary Guard and played a key role in fights against the extremist ISIS group in Syria and Iraq.

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