?Syrians take part in a protest against the United States and in support of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani at the Saadallah al-Jabiri Square in Aleppo, northern Syria, on Jan. 7, 2020. Hundreds of Syrians gathered on Tuesday in the main square in Syria's northern city of Aleppo and held a funeral ceremony for Qassem Soleimani, an Iranian general who was killed by a U.S. strike in Iraq on Friday. (Xinhua)
ALEPPO, Syria, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of Syrians gathered on Tuesday in the main square in Syria's northern city of Aleppo and held a funeral ceremony for Qassem Soleimani, an Iranian general who was killed by a U.S. strike in Iraq on Friday.
Angry crowds filled the Saadallah al-Jabiri Square in Aleppo and chanted slogans against the United States and in support of Soleimani.
Against the national songs from the blaring loudspeakers, people waved Syrian flags and posters of Soleimani and the Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Some even burned U.S. flags in the square.
Most of these people were calling for the withdrawal of the U.S. troops from Syria and Iraq following the assassination of Soleimani.
Abdul-Naser Hindaw, a 50-year-old man from Aleppo, told Xinhua that Soleimani was a minaret of hope to the people especially in Syria which is part of the Axis of Resistance, a term refers to the alliance between Iran, Syria and the Lebanese Hezbollah.
"We in the Axis of Resistance are proud of our martyrs. Those leaders have been the flame that showed us the way to retake our areas and the just punishment should be the departure of the American forces from Iraq and Syria," he said.
Abdul-Monem al-Bagho, another participant in the funeral ceremony, told Xinhua that the assassination has turned the table against the United States.
"The table has been turned against them. We will see good results particularly after the resolution of the Iraqi parliament that demands the departure of U.S. forces from Iraq," he said.
Mustafa Jamal, another man from Aleppo, said Soleimani had a very positive role in the battle that led to the liberation of Aleppo in 2016 and on other fronts across the country against the Islamic State (IS) and the al-Qaida-linked groups.
"The Syrian people bear witness to the good thing he has done in Syria on all fronts such as targeting the IS and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front," Jamal told Xinhua.
Soleimani was the leader of Iran's Quds Force, which has contributed positively to the battle against the ultra-radical groups in Syria.
