MASHHAD, Iran - Hundreds of thousands of people are attending the mourning procession for Lieutenant-General Qassem Soleimani in the shrine city of Mashhad .

People from all walks of life, including the young old, men, and women, have flocked to the city of Mashhad from different cities of Khorassan Razavi province to bid farewell to Soleimani, who has been called "the General of the Hearts". 

The lieutenant general was assassinated in a terrorist attack by the U.S. on Friday morning, 3 January, at Baghdad International airport. Several senior members of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), including Abdu Mahdi al-Muhandis, were also martyred in the vicious attack.