Pentagon says it killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani on Trump's order

• The Pentagon has confirmed that the US military, acting on the orders of the president, has killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.

The Department of Defense confirmed Thursday evening that the US military, acting on the orders of President Donald Trump, killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.

"The US military has taken decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force," the Pentagon said in a statement.

The Pentagon said that Soleimani was planning attacks on US diplomats and servicemembers in Iraq and elsewhere, adding that the hawkish commander and his forces were responsible for "the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more."

Soleimani, the statement explained, was responsible for attacks on colaitions bases in Iraq in recent months, including the rocket attack on a local base that killed a US civilian contractor and wounded US service members. The general was also blamed for orchestrating the attacks on the US Embassy in Baghdad.

"This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans. The United States will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world."

This is a breaking news story and will be updated with more information...