Crude prices spiked Thursday night following reports that a top Iranian general and an Iraqi militia's deputy commander were killed in a possible U.S. airstrike at Baghdad's airport. Citing Iraqi officials, the Associated Press said Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force and one of that country's most powerful officials, had been killed. An Iran-backed militia blamed the U.S. for the attack, but Washington had no immediate response. That set off immediate speculation of serious military reprisals against U.S. targets around the Persian Gulf by Iran and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery clg20 and the global benchmark, Brent crude for March delivery brnh20, each surged more than 2% following the news. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, -0.93% and S&P 500 futures ES00, -1.32% fell.