A huge crowd in Iraq's capital Baghdad is taking part in a funeral procession for the Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US air strike on Thursday.

Soleimani was the architect of Iran's Middle East operations. Iran has vowed to take "severe revenge" for his death.

The gathering in Baghdad on Saturday marked the beginning of days of mourning for Soleimani.

His body is to be returned to Iran for a funeral and burial in his home town.

The crowds in Baghdad were also there to mourn the death of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an Iraqi who commanded the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah group and effectively led the Popular Mobilisation units - an umbrella of militias in Iraq dominated by groups aligned with Iran.

BBC