The funeral processions of the commander of Iran’s IRGC Quds Force, Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani, and Iraq’s Hashd al-Sah’abi deputy Mahdi al-Muhandis started in the holy Iraqi city of Kazemein on Saturday morning, Mehr reported.

According to Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi, thousands of people have gathered in the holy shrines of Shia Imams in Kazemein to hold the mourning ceremony.

The bodies will be transferred to Baghdad afterward for holding mourning ceremonies in the Iraqi capital.

General Soleimani’s body will be transferred to Iran on Monday to be buried in his hometown, Kerman.

A US airstrike killed General Qasem Soleimani at Baghdad’s international airport early on Friday. The Pentagon said in a statement that US President Donald Trump had ordered the attack.