Blast tore Iran General's body into pieces, was identified by red ring on his hand

The body of Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US strike at Baghdad International airport, was identified through the prominent red ring on his severed hand on Friday.

The strike, on an access road near Baghdad’s airport, was carried out by an American drone, according to a US official. A senior politician said Soleimani’s body was identified by the ring he wore, AP reported.

Following news of his death, Iraqi journalists took to social media to share a video from the scene, showing a close up of the ring.

The attack took place when Soleimani had disembarked from a plane arriving from either Syria or Lebanon, a senior Iraqi security official said, the news agency reported.

The blast tore his body to pieces along with that of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, the report added.

Iran’s state TV said 10 people were killed in the airstrike, including five Revolutionary Guard members and Soleimani’s son-in-law.

US President Donald Trump, who is vacationing in Florida, said the airstrike was ordered because Soleimani was “plotting to kill” many Americans. “He should have been taken out many years ago!” Trump tweeted.

“General Qassem Soleimani has killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans over an extended period of time, and was plotting to kill many more…but got caught! He was directly and indirectly responsible for the death of millions of people, including the recent large number…. …of protesters killed in Iran itself,” he posted on the micro-blogging site.