US targeted 2nd Iran commander, but failed

Washington: An unsuccessful strike on another high-ranking Iranian military commander took place in Yemen on the same night a US drone strike killed Iranian Gen Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad, sources said.

The Jan 2 night-time strike targeted Abdul Reza Shahla'i, a key Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander, at his compound in Yemen, where he led Iran's military support for the Houthi rebel group backed by Iran, according to a counterterrorism official and a US official.

The strike on the compound was carried out by a drone, the counterterrorism official said, add­ing that by the next morning the US learned the strike was unsuccessful.