An Iraqi militia mentioned it has suspended its operations towards US troops within the area, days after three US troopers have been killed in a drone assault on a base in Jordan that Washington blamed on “radical Iran-backed militant teams”.
“We announce the suspension of navy and safety operations towards the occupation forces with the intention to stop embarrassment to the Iraqi authorities,” mentioned the secretary-general of Kataeb Hizbollah, Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi.
“We will proceed to defend our folks in Gaza in different methods,” he mentioned within the assertion on Tuesday, including that the group’s fighters can be engaged in “passive protection” ought to there be any “hostile American motion” in direction of them.
President Joe Biden mentioned on Tuesday he had determined to answer Sunday’s lethal drone assault.
But he added: “I do not assume we want a wider struggle within the Middle East. That’s not what I’m on the lookout for.”
US officers mentioned they have been nonetheless assessing who was liable for Sunday’s assault, however mentioned they noticed hyperlinks with Kataeb Hizbollah.
“It has the footprints of Kataeb Hizbollah, however not making a closing evaluation on that — our groups listed below are persevering with to do the evaluation,” mentioned Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh.
Founded within the aftermath of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, Kataeb Hizbollah is likely one of the strongest Shia militias in Iraq, with deep ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Experts say it is likely one of the main members throughout the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a shadowy umbrella group that emerged in mid-October and has since taken credit score for greater than 140 assaults on US troops in Iraq and Syria.
The IRI is considered one of a number of teams that collectively make up what Tehran calls the Axis of Resistance. The teams have focused Israeli and American navy installations throughout the Middle East since Hamas militants’ lethal assault on Israel on October 7, which sparked the present struggle.
As effectively because the IRI’s assaults towards US forces in Iraq and Syria, Lebanon’s Hizbollah militant group has additionally clashed with Israel on their shared border virtually each day since October 8, whereas Houthi rebels in Yemen have attacked service provider ships within the Red Sea.