The exact moment that Quds commander Qassem Soleimani and his associates were killed in the US airstrike at Baghdad airport was captured on closed circuit video that showed a blinding flash and blazing debris hurtling skyward.

The CCTV video taken close to the airport was obtained by the Daily Mail from Iraqi TV station AhadTV and shows a large explosion as one of the two vehicles was destroyed by precision airstrike.

Iran has vowed a “crushing revenge” and “jihad” on the US following the attack.

Soleimani died in the strike ordered by President Trump amid rising tensions between the two countries after supporters of Iranian militias attacked the US Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday.

Brigadier General Hussein Jafari Nia and Major-General Hadi Taremi were ​also killed in the strike, along with Colonel of the Guards Shahroud Mozaffari Nia and Captain Waheed Zamanian.​ ​

Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy-commander of the Iraqi-based pro-Iran People’s Mobilization Forces, ​as well as ​Mohammad al-Shibani, Muhandis’s son-in-law, ​were among t​hose virtually vaporized by one of four American guided missiles fired by a Reaper drone​.

​With a range of 1,150 miles and the ability to fly at altitudes of 50,000 feet, the MQ-9 Reaper system is an “armed, multi-mission, medium-altitude, long-endurance” remotely piloted aircraft designed primarily for offensive strikes, according to the US Air Force.