Weeping, Iranian supreme leader prays over general slain by US

Iranians in the funeral procession carried photographs of slain Qassem Soleimani and banners with anti-US slogans. The country's supreme leader Khamenei led a mass prayer service, with high-ranking government and military officials.

Tehran: Weeping amid wails from a sea of mourners, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday prayed over the remains of a top Iranian general killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad, an attack that drastically raised tensions between Tehran and Washington.

The targeted killing of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani drew a crowd, said by police to be in the millions in Tehran.

From the early hours of Monday, Iranians walked toward the University of Tehran near Enghelab Square, where the funeral rites began among chants against the US and Israel, reported Efe news.

People in the funeral procession carried photographs of Soleimani, Iranian flags and banners with anti-US slogans.

Khamenei led a mass prayer service, with along with high-ranking government and military officials.

Soleimani's remains, along with those of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy leader of the Iraqi militia Popular Mobilization Forces who was also killed in the attack, arrived in Iran on Sunday.

Muhandis's remains were brought to Tehran to undergo DNA testing.