Kata’ib Hezbollah fighters gather ahead of the funeral of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Hashd al-Sha’abi or Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), who was assasinated in a US airstrike, in Baghdad, Iraq, January 4, 2020. (Photo by Reuters)
On August 28, Kata’ib Hezbollah, one of the largest Iranian-backed factions in Iraq, denied attacking US-led coalition bases in Syria.
The faction was accused by some US allies in Iraq of being responsible for a series of attacks that targeted several bases of the coalition in southeastern and northeastern Syria over the past week. The US responded to the attacks by targeted positions of Iranian-backed forces in Syria.
In a statement, Abu Ali al-Askari, a senior official of Kata’ib Hezbollah, denied responsibility for the recent attacks, accusing US allies in Iraq of setting the ground for an American attack on the faction.
“Kata’ib Hezbollah did not exchange attacks with the American invaders in the past week, whether in Iraq, Syria or elsewhere, and the talk about this by some is nothing but a justification for their failure to protect their occupying forces … and to create justifications for bombing here or there,” the official said.
Al-Askari went on to warn US allies in Iraq that any attack on Kata’ib Hezbollah in Iraq, under any pretext, will be met with fierce response.
On another note, al-Askari called for the complete withdrawal of Turkish forces from northern Iraq. Kata’ib Hezbollah is one of several Iraqi factions that has been condemning Turkey’s never-ending operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in the Kurdistan Region. Ankara’s current operation, codenamed Claw-Lock, has already claimed the lives of several civilians.
“The aggressor Turkish forces must be expelled from Iraq, and it will be in two stages, the first from the advanced bases, and the second by clearing the border areas of their mercenaries,” al-Askari said.
Al-Askari added that the “Iraqi resistance and its friends” can achieve the task of expelling Turkish forces from northern Iraq.
Kata’ib Hezbollah is one of the main political and military players in Iraq. The group, which rose to prominent during the US occupation of the country, maintains a strong stand against the US, unlike some other Shiite factions that softened their stand in the recent years.
Yeah, cui bono?
The US has no legitimate reason to have troops in Iraq and Syria. They will be leaving soon.
Apart from the fact that the JewSA is not controlled from Washington but from Tel-Aviv via Langley!