Maj Gen Qassem Suleimani (62), the head of Iran's elite al-Quds force and architect of its regional security apparatus, was killed when a US drone fired missiles into a convoy that was leaving the Baghdad International Airport early on Friday. The strike also killed the deputy chief of Iraq's powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force. Soleimani's killing was the most dramatic escalation yet in spiralling tensions between Iran and the US. Reacting to the killing of a top Iranian commander by the US, India had on Friday said the increase in tension had alarmed the world and asserted that peace, stability, and security in the region are of utmost importance to it.