ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran-linked Iraqi militia Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya (HAAA) on Tuesday said that the group’s recent designation as a terrorist organization by the United States is an acknowledgement of their determination to resist “tyranny”, referring to the classification as “a badge of honor.”
The US State Department on Monday designated HAAA and its Secretary-General Haydar Muzhir Ma’lak al-Sa’idi (aka Haider Ibrahim al-Gharawi), as “specially designated global terrorists,” citing the group’s continued threats and attacks on US interests in the region.
In a statement on Tuesday, the group described the designation as “good news” and confirmation that they are “on the right path in defending their people’s just causes.”
“We consider this naming an acknowledgment of the strength of their influence and their determination to resist injustice and tyranny, and these desperate attempts to distort their reputation will only increase their persistence determination to continue their legitimate struggle,” read a statement from the group.
The statement reiterated support for the HAAA and called on the “free people of the world” to reject the “false accusations.”
The HAAA is part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups affiliated with the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) which has targeted US interests in Iraq and Syria over 100 times since mid-October in condemnation of Washington’s unwavering support for Israel in its war against the Gaza Strip.
US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski said in a post on X that the group’s designation reaffirms Washington’s commitment to confronting “Iran's malign influence and the threats posed by Iranian-affiliated militias.”
The HAAA was formed in 2014 as a brigade of the government-linked Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and has been accused of threatening and targeting American interests in Iraq and Syria. The group was also allegedly involved in kidnapping and killing of protesters during the 2019 Tishreen movement.
Washington claimed that HAAA was involved in the January drone attack on an American military base in Jordan, which killed three service members and injured 34 others - a strike which has been claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
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