Iraq’s government on Thursday condemned U.S. attacks on Iranian-backed Shiite militias, including Wednesday’s attack that reportedly killed the leader of Kataib Hezbollah, one of the most powerful militias.
The office of Shiite Prime Minister al-Sudani said the airstrike could prompt Iraq to ask US troops to leave the country.
The United States is round of strikes Attacks on Iranian terrorist proxies in Iraq, Syria and Yemen after drone strikes by militias killed Three American soldiers at a base in Jordan in late January. The US and UK have also struck targets in Yemen in a bid to stop Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists from attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea, but have so far failed.
On Wednesday night, a U.S. drone destroyed A car carrying Kataib Hezbollah (KH) militia leaders in Baghdad.US officials Said The Iraqi government was not informed in advance of the “unilateral” attack.
KH confirmed that the target in the car was Abu Baqir al-Saadi, a senior militia commander. Iraqi intelligence sources said there were two other people in the car when it was hit by a missile launched by the drone. U.S. officials said there was no civilian collateral damage from the attack.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Said The airstrike that killed al-Saadi eliminated “commanders responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks against U.S. forces in the region.”
“The United States will continue to take the necessary actions to protect our people. We will not hesitate to hold accountable anyone who threatens the safety of our military,” Centcom said.
KH and other Shiite militias were de facto deputized by the Iraqi government a decade ago under the name of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) to help fight the Islamic State invasion. . This technically made the militia leader an officer in the Iraqi militia. According to witnesses in Baghdad, the car destroyed in the US drone strike was a PMF vehicle.
Iranian militias also have proxies in Iraq. belong to It charged a self-proclaimed group called the Islamic Resistance Movement in Iraq (IRI), which has carried out dozens of attacks on American military positions since the Israeli-Hamas war began in October. The US government named IRI as responsible for the deadly attack in Jordan, and specifically cited KH as a key element of IRI.
KH claimed It would halt action against American targets after the attack in Jordan, ostensibly to “prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government.”
The Biden administration has spent months pleading with Baghdad to rein in Shiite militias, to no avail. Instead, angry Iraqi politicians began talking about evicting U.S. troops from the country.
BBC report A crowd of protesters gathered around the ruins of the KH commander’s vehicle, chanting “America is the biggest devil.” The crowd prevented journalists from approaching the strike site.
People inspect a vehicle targeted by an airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq, February 7, 2024. At least three explosions were heard across the Iraqi capital Baghdad, local media reported (Photo by Murtada Al Sudani/Anadolu via Getty Images).
“You are foreigners and this is foreigners’ fault!” one demonstrator told the BBC.
Iraqi military spokesperson condemned The US attack was a “blatant invasion,” a “violation of Iraq’s sovereignty,” and an “blatant assassination in the heart of a residential area of the capital.”
Prime Minister Al-Sudani’s military spokesperson Yahya Rasool Said It said it was “concerned” that the Union was “consistently deviating from the reasons and purposes for which it exists on our territory”.
“This trajectory will force the Iraqi government more than ever to end this coalition’s mission, which is a source of instability and threatens to drag Iraq into a cycle of conflict,” Rasul said. Stated.
Previously Sudani called The aim is to withdraw U.S. forces as quickly as possible without setting a clear deadline. The Pentagon said there are no plans for such a withdrawal.
