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kata ib hezbollah
Iraq Slams US for 'Showing No Regard for Civilian Lives or International Laws'
"The American forces jeopardize civil peace, violate Iraqi sovereignty, and disregard the safety and lives of our citizens," an Iraqi official said in response to a deadly U.S. drone strike in Baghdad.
Feb 08, 2024
A deadly U.S. drone strike in Baghdad late Wednesday drew swift criticism from Iraqi officials and foreign policy analysts, who warned that the Biden administration's repeated attacks are further inflaming regional tensions and putting civilians at risk.
Yehia Rasool, a spokesperson for the Iraqi military, said in a statement early Thursday that the U.S. "conducted a blatant assassination through an airstrike in the heart of a residential neighborhood in the capital, Baghdad, showing no regard for civilian lives or international laws."
"By this act, the American forces jeopardize civil peace, violate Iraqi sovereignty, and disregard the safety and lives of our citizens," said Rasool. "Even more concerning is that the coalition consistently deviates from the reasons and objectives for its presence on our territory."
Rasool said the latest U.S. strike will only intensify the push to remove American forces from Iraq more than two decades after the disastrous 2003 invasion.
"This trajectory compels the Iraqi government more than ever to terminate the mission of this coalition, which has become a factor for instability and threatens to entangle Iraq in the cycle of conflict," said Rasool.
The U.S. Central Command said Wednesday that the drone strike killed a commander of the Iraqi militia group Kata'ib Hezbollah. CENTCOM accused the commander, later identified as Abu Baqir Al-Saadi, of "directly planning and participating in attacks on U.S. forces in the region."
"There are no indications of collateral damage or civilian casualties at this time," CENTCOM said Wednesday. "The United States will continue to take necessary action to protect our people. We will not hesitate to hold responsible all those who threaten our forces' safety."
"This is likely to backfire and threaten Iraq's fragile stability."
Wednesday's strike, carried out at around 9:30 pm Baghdad time, was part of a broader U.S. response to a deadly attack on American forces stationed at a little-known base just inside Jordan's border with Syria. At least three people, including Al-Saadi, were reportedly killed in Wednesday's strike.
Kata'ib Hezbollah, which the U.S. describes as backed and funded by Iran, said last month that it would suspend attacks on American troops to avoid angering the Iraqi government. The U.S. Congress has not specifically authorized military action against Iran-backed militias, but that hasn't stopped the Biden administration from launching dozens of deadly airstrikes against them in recent weeks.
The Associated Pressreported that U.S. officials did not notify their Iraqi counterparts of Wednesday's strike in advance, a decision that's sure to worsen the two countries' already strained relations.
"The precision blast hit a main thoroughfare in the Mashtal neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, attracting a crowd as emergency teams picked through the wreckage," according to AP.
The latest U.S. airstrike in the Middle East came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a Hamas cease-fire proposal and vowed to continue the devastating assault on Gaza that has killed more than 27,800 people and heightened the chances of a full-blown regional war.
Sina Toossi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, said following Wednesday's strike that Kata'ib Hezbollah's pledge to suspend attacks on American forces gave U.S. President Joe Biden "a chance to de-escalate regional tensions."
"But it's not clear what Biden's endgame is other than scoring some short-term political points," Toossi added. "This is likely to backfire and threaten Iraq's fragile stability."
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Iraqi Militia Suspends Attacks on US Forces, Paving Way for Troop Withdrawal
"If true, this is the least bad outcome," said one observer. "Iraqi militias agree to stop targeting thousands of U.S. troops, who then can be safely removed from harm's way, more than two decades after the disastrous Iraq war."
Jan 31, 2024
A militia group that the Biden administration blamed for the deadly attack on U.S. forces stationed at a shadowy base in Jordan said Tuesday that it would stop targeting American troops in Iraq, a move that could clear the way for the withdrawal of U.S. soldiers more than two decades after the 2003 invasion.
"We announce the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces—in order to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government," Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi, the leader of Kata'ib Hezbollah, said in a statement. "Our brothers in the Axis, especially in the Islamic Republic of Iran, they do not know how we conduct our Jihad, and they often object to the pressure and escalation against the American occupation forces in Iraq and Syria."
Pentagon officials have specifically named Kata'ib Hezbollah as one of the groups behind the drone attack on U.S. troops in Jordan over the weekend. U.S. President Joe Biden and administration officials have said they ultimately hold Iran responsible for the attack, accusing that country's government of funding and arming Kata'ib Hezbollah and other militia groups in the region.
Kata'ib Hezbollah's leader said in his statement that the group has launched attacks on U.S. forces at its "own will, and without any interference from others." Biden administration officials have admitted they have no evidence that Iran directed the Jordan attack.
Biden told reporters on Tuesday that he has decided how to respond to the Jordan attack but declined to provide any details.
Asked during a media briefing about Kata'ib Hezbollah's statement, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said he doesn't "have a specific comment to provide, other than actions speak louder than words."
The drone attack on American forces in Jordan came a day after the U.S. and high-ranking Iraqi officials
held their first round of formal talks on the process of removing the roughly 2,500 U.S. troops still deployed in the country.
Analysts have argued that the continued presence of U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria has dramatically increased the likelihood of a broader regional war. The Intercept's Ken Klippenstein reported Tuesday that U.S. military personnel in Iraq received a memo this month instructing them to be "on standby to forward deploy to support troops in the case of on-ground U.S. involvement in the Israel-Hamas war."
Hisham al-Rikabi, an adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, toldCNN on Tuesday that Kata'ib Hezbollah's vow to suspend its attacks on U.S. forces "is the result of efforts made by" Iraq's government to "ensure the smoothness of the negotiation process and in order to complete the withdrawal [of U.S. troops] from Iraq."
The New York Timesreported Tuesday that Kata'ib Hezbollah had previously ignored the Iraqi government's requests to stop attacking U.S. forces, "but once the attack in Jordan on Sunday took American lives, Mr. Sudani demanded a complete halt from Kata'ib Hezbollah."
"Mr. Sudani reached out directly to Iran, according to a military strategist for the Revolutionary Guards who works closely with the Axis groups in Iraq," the Times added.
Erik Sperling, executive director of Just Foreign Policy, said in response to al-Rikabi's comments that, "if true, this is the least bad outcome."
"Iraqi militias agree to stop targeting thousands of U.S. troops, who then can be safely removed from harm's way, more than two decades after the disastrous Iraq war," Sperling wrote on social media. "Hope we'll see U.S. troops in Syria brought home too."
Domestic and regional pressure on the U.S. to withdraw its forces from Iraq has grown since Israel began its latest assault on the Gaza Strip in October following a deadly Hamas-led attack. Militia groups, including Kata'ib Hezbollah, have launched upwards of 160 attacks on American troops in Iraq and Syria since October 7, and the Biden administration has retaliated with airstrikes in both countries—infuriating the Iraqi government and fueling concerns about a full-scale regional war.
The Jordan attack took those concerns to new levels as warhawks in the U.S. Congress demanded that Biden retaliate with strikes inside Iran. Progressive lawmakers, for their part, have called for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, warning that further military action would only exacerbate the regional crisis.
Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, said Tuesday that "if any party attacks Iran's territory, or its interests or citizens abroad, it will be met with a decisive response."
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