Yemen's pro-Tehran rebels, who control the capital Sanaa, called Friday for "swift reprisals" for the killing of senior Iranian commander Major General Qasem Soleimani in a US strike in Baghdad.

"We condemn this killing and direct and swift reprisals are the answer," senior rebel political official Mohammed Ali al-Huthi tweeted.

The Saudi-led coalition, which has been fighting the rebels since March 2015, accuses Iran of providing them with sophisticated weapons to use against Saudi airports and oil facilities, something Tehran denies.

In September, the Yemeni rebels claimed responsibility for twin drone and missile strikes on Saudi oil facilities that briefly knocked out half the kingdom's output, sending world prices soaring.

The United States dismissed the rebel claim and alleged that it was Iran itself which orchestrated the attacks, something Tehran again denied.

Iraqis 'dancing in the street' after Soleimani death: Pompeo
Washington (AFP) Jan 3, 2020 - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo posted a video on Twitter Thursday he said showed Iraqis "dancing in the street" after the United States killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.

"Iraqis - Iraqis - dancing in the street for freedom; thankful that General Soleimani is no more," Pompeo wrote, alongside footage of scores of people running along a road and waving what appeared to be Iraqi flags and other banners.

President Donald Trump ordered the killing of the Iran Revolutionary Guards commander, who died Friday "in a decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad," the Pentagon said.

"General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region," the Department of Defense said in a statement.

"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."

Pompeo did not provide a source for the video or offer any details about where the images were filmed.

The strike at Baghdad's international airport also killed the deputy chief of Iraq's powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force.

A pro-Iran mob this week laid siege to the US embassy following deadly American air strikes on a hardline Hashed faction.

The US had called the strikes in response to a rocket attack days earlier that killed an American contractor working in Iraq.

The Pentagon said Soleimani had orchestrated attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the past months, including on December 27, the day the contractor was killed.

"General Soleimani also approved the attacks on the US Embassy in Baghdad that took place this week," it said.

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General Qasem Soleimani: Iran's regional pointman
Tehran (AFP) Jan 3, 2020
Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed Friday in a US strike, was one of the most popular figures in Iran and seen as a deadly adversary by America and its allies. General Soleimani, who headed the external operations Quds Force for the Guards, had wielded his regional clout publicly since 2018 when it was revealed that he had direct involvement in top-level talks over the formation of Iraq's government. It was no surprise at the time for a man who has been at the centre ... read more