Iraqi Consulate in Detroit opens doors for condolences after killing of Iran terror mastermind Soleimani — and locals from Iraq aren't happy

The Iraqi Consulate in Detroit is opening its doors this week for condolences after the U.S. military killed Iranian terror mastermind Gen. Qassem Soleimani, WXYZ-TV reported — which has some locals from Iraq speaking out against the gesture.

Soleimani — who led Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, aided terror in the Middle East, and orchestrated the killings of scores of Americans — met his end last week in a U.S. military airstrike ordered by President Donald Trump near the Baghdad airport.

What are the details?

The consulate's Facebook page reads that it will open "a register of condolences to the lives of the martyrs who have fallen as a result of the recent American raids in Iraq." The station said the consulate will open from 2 to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. Iraqis are among a large Arab-American population in the Detroit area, WWMT-TV reported.

Reaction to the Facebook post was swift and pointed:

• "Shame on u. How about the thousands of people who died in Iraq since October during the revolution, how come there was no funeral for them?"
• "Message to Trump: we, the people of Iraq, declare that the Iraqi parliament does not represent the Iraqi people, and we ask the United Nations to intervene quickly to save us from the hands of Iranian militias in Iraq. We want to live freely, and we yearn for freedom."
• "All of the Iraqi diplomat missions and their families should be kicked out from U.S. soil immediately because they are supporting the enemies of the USA."

'Really disgusting'

Nabby Yono with the Arab American & Chaldean Council in Detroit told WXYZ it's "really, really disgusting" that the consulate is more or less holding a memorial for figures killed in the surprise attack that the U.S. government deemed terrorists.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

"We are Iraqis, not Iranians... we're against it," Yono added to the station.

But the Office of the President of Iraq said Friday it was saddened by "the martyrdom of the two commanders ... who played a significant and crucial role and showed the most wonderful pictures of altruism in fighting against ISIS," the Detroit Free Press noted.

Iraqi Consulate in Detroit to open for condolences in killing of Qassam Soleimaniyoutu.be