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How the U.S. Killed Soleimani
(NBC News) Ken Dilanian - Armed with a tip from informants at Damascus airport, the CIA knew exactly when a jet carrying Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani took off en route to Iraq. Intelligence from Israel helped confirm the details. Once the plane landed at Baghdad's main airport, which houses U.S. military personnel, American spies confirmed its exact whereabouts. Three American drones moved into position overhead, with no fear of challenge in an Iraqi airspace completely dominated by the U.S. military. On large screens, U.S. officials watched as an Iraqi militia leader walked up a set of stairs to greet the leader of Iran's Quds Force as he emerged from the airplane. The drones followed as their vehicles exited the airport. Signals intelligence specialists honed in on their cellphones to confirm their identities. Four missiles were fired. There were no survivors. The operation was run from U.S. Central Command forward headquarters in Qatar. The U.S. has become adept at hunting and killing its enemies, particularly in the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. Targeted strikes represent a fundamental change in warfare, said Anthony Cordesman, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "It requires a truly immense intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance effort - one which basically no other country in the world can match."