Searches for 'World War 3' spiked on Google within hours of a US airstrike in Iraq which killed a top Iranian general on Friday. 

Top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani was killed after America conducted airstrikes near Baghdad´s international airport. 

The general's death, confirmed by both Iran and the US, represents the most dramatic escalation between the two countries in recent history. 

The Pentagon said US President Donald Trump had ordered Soleimani's "killing" in 'retaliation' to a mob earlier this week besieging the US embassy in Baghdad. 

Reacting to the incident, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed to take "severe revenge" for Soleimani´s death.

The heightening tensions sparked panic across the globe, with many struggling to make sense of what comes next. 

The sense of uncertainty was captured in a sudden spike in searches for the term 'world war 3' on Google recorded by Google Trends.

Likewise, Iran was the number 2 most searched trend on Google in the United States, with more than 500,000 searches for the topic. Qassem Soleimani was number 5.