Iraq condemns ‘heinous’ US airstrike against security forces
The US army killed four PMU fighters in their first airstrike on Iraqi soil in months, as Baghdad accused Washington of ‘undermining’ discussions for the withdrawal of US troops
The spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Major General Yahya Rasool, has condemned a US drone strike that killed four members of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) north of Babil on Tuesday, pledging to take “appropriate legal and diplomatic measures.”
“Despite extensive efforts through political and diplomatic channels … in the efforts [to end] the presence and operations of the Global Coalition against Daesh (ISIS) in Iraq and transitioning to a bilateral security relationship based on mutual respect and safeguarding Iraq’s sovereignty and security, the coalition forces have committed a heinous crime and blatant aggression,” Rasool said on 31 July
“Such serious and uncalculated transgressions can significantly undermine all efforts, mechanisms, and frameworks of joint security work to combat ISIS in Iraq and Syria. They also risk dragging Iraq and the entire region into dangerous conflicts and wars. Therefore, we hold the coalition forces fully responsible for these consequences following this flagrant aggression,” the military spokesman for Commander-in-Chief Mohammed Shia al-Sudani continued.
The Iraqi official also stressed that Baghdad “will also seek justice for the fallen heroes and hold those responsible for the attack accountable.”
Rasool’s statement came a few hours after the US army launched its first airstrike on Iraqi soil in months, killing four PMU fighters, including a field commander identified as “Abu Hassan.”
“The strikes resulted in the deaths of four members of the 47th Brigade: Commander Ahmed Najm Abdul Zahra (Abu Hassan), Hussein Karim Kazem Al-Daraji, Haider Hassan Hussein Al-Saadi, and Ali Sadiq Imran Al-Moussawi,” the PMU – also known as the Hashd al-Shaabi – announced on Tuesday night.
A US defense official told western media in a brief statement that “based on recent attacks in Iraq and Syria,” the Pentagon assessed that the activity constituted a “threat to American and coalition forces.”
“This action underscores the United States’ commitment to the safety and security of our personnel,” the statement said. “We maintain the inherent right to self-defense and will not hesitate to take appropriate action,” the unnamed official added.
The airstrike came days after factions within the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) – an umbrella group that includes groups allied with the PMU – launched several rocket attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria. US officials say the attack left “no damage or injuries.”
“Let the Zionist entity and its supporters from America of evil and the arrogant west know that the Islamic Resistance in Iraq is continuing its targeting of the usurping, occupying Zionist-American entity in support of our people in occupied Palestine. We also explicitly declare our readiness and full support for our brothers in Hezbollah, and indeed, Allah is capable of granting us victory,” the PMU-affiliated Nujaba Movementsaid in a statement earlier this week.
On 22 July, Iraqi Defense Minister Thabet Muhammad al-Abbasi led a delegation to Washington for meetings at the Pentagon to resume talks on the withdrawal of about 2,500 US combat troops that remain in Iraq.
US officials claim a US troop presence is still necessary to counter a threat from ISIS. But Sudani has stated that Iraqi forces no longer require US help to contain the terror group, which was largely defeated in Iraq and Syria in 2019.
“The justifications for the existence of the international coalition were to confront ISIS, and today, the organization does not represent a threat to the Iraqi state,” Sudani said in January.