Yahoo News Iranian mourners chant 'Death to England' after being told of rocket attacks on Iraq bases
Footage has emerged of Iranians chanting “death to England” after hearing about the Revolutionary Guard attacks on Iraqi bases housing British and US troops.
Iran launched ballistic missiles at the bases in response to the US killing of General Qassem Soleimani, whose death last week in an American drone strike near Baghdad prompted angry calls for vengeance.
Video shows an Iranian official telling a crowd of mourners at Soleimani’s funeral that the Ain al-Asad and Erbil air bases had been hit by several missiles.
The crowd are then seeing chanting "Allahu Akbar”, "Death to England" and "Death to Israel”.
The overnight attack was another escalation between the US and Iran but officials said there were no immediate reports of deaths.
The Iraqi government later confirmed there had been no casualties among Iraqi forces.
Separately, a Ukrainian passenger plane crashed shortly after taking off from Iran’s capital of Tehran in the early hours of the morning, killing 176 people – including three Brits.
There was no indication that the crash was connected to the missile strikes, with Iran saying it was due to an engine fire.
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A presenter on Iranian state television later claimed, without offering evidence, that the strikes killed "at least 80 terrorist US soldiers" and also damaged helicopters, drones and other equipment at the Ain al-Asad air base.
The strikes, which came as Iran buried Soleimani, raised fears that the two foes were closer to war.
All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2020
However, there were some indications that there may not be further retaliation on either side, at least in the short term.
Donald Trump tweeted "All is well!" shortly after the missile attacks, adding "So far, so good" regarding casualties.
Moments earlier, Iran's foreign minister tweeted that Tehran had taken and "concluded proportionate measures in self-defence", adding that Tehran did "not seek escalation" but would defend itself against further aggression.
In Tehran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the missile strike on the US bases in Iraq a "slap in the face" of the Americans, adding that military retaliation was not sufficient.
"The corrupt presence of the US in the region should come to end," he said.
The Ain al-Asad air base, which was first used by American forces after the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, houses about 1,500 US and coalition forces.
The Iranians fired a total of 15 missiles, two US officials said. Ten hit Ain al-Asad and one hit the base in Erbil. Four failed, said the officials.
