[Shaun]

Not a Republican incumbent using a war to try and remain in office

General Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' elite Quds Force, has been killed by US forces in Iraq.

The Pentagon confirmed he was killed "at the direction of the president".

It comes after reports of a strike at Baghdad's international airport, which is said to have killed a number of people.

The death marks a huge escalation which analysts fear could lead to an Iranian response.

Gen Soleimani was a major figure in the Iranian regime. His Quds force reported directly to the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and he was hailed as a heroic national figure.

US President Donald Trump tweeted an image of the American flag after the news broke.

Global oil prices meanwhile soared more than 4% in the wake of the strike.

"At the direction of the President, the US military has taken decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani," a Pentagon statement said.

"This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans. The United States will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world."

The strike comes days after protesters surrounded the US embassy in Baghdad, clashing with US forces at the scene. The Pentagon said Gen Soleimani approved the attacks on the embassy.

"General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more," the statement said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis had also been killed in the US attack, blaming an attack by US helicopters.

Reports also suggest that a number of Iraq militia heads have been detained by US forces in Baghdad, although this is unconfirmed.

Since 1998, Maj Gen Qasem Soleimani led Iran's Quds Force - an elite unit in Iran's Revolutionary Guards, which handles clandestine operations abroad.

In that position Gen Soleimani played a key role bolstering Bashar al-Assad's Iranian-supported government in the Syrian Civil War, and in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq.

He first came to prominence in his country serving in the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.

Most likely won't result in WW3 but this has to be the dumbest move in decades.