Iran-backed militias in Iraq vow to resist US plan to ‘destroy’ them

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Two Iraqi militia groups, Kataib Hezbollah and al-Nujaba’a, have vowed to resist any attack by US forces after reports emerged in US media this week of a planned assault on Iranian proxies.

Mohammed Mohei, spokesman for Kataib Hezbollah, told pro-Hezbollah outlet al-Alam TV on Monday that the group is ready to confront any US attack.  

“The US knows that the first and main obstacle to its policy in Iraq is Kataib Hezbollah,” Mohei said. 

“Therefore, the US aims to weaken the group, and that is not a surprise or coincidence as the US has always wanted to do that.”

Al-Alam is an Arabic news channel broadcasting from Iran and owned by the state-owned media corporation Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

Although the US has already targeted his group several times, Mohei said Kataib Hezbollah is “ready and capable of confronting US attacks inside Iraq”.

“The US has targeted the resistance groups inside and outside Iraq several times, but all the attacks have strengthen us more and more,” Mohei said.

“The reason the US plans to attack us now is because Trump started to realise that he won’t win the second term of presidency and wants to run away from coronavirus.”

Mohei’s comments follow reports in the New York Times on Friday which revealed US military commanders have been ordered to prepare to “destroy” Kataib Hezbollah.  

The Iraqi government responded to the reports on Monday, warning that any military action can only take place with Baghdad’s authorization.  

Nasir al-Shimmari, spokesman and deputy head of al-Nujaba’a, also struck a defiant tone on Monday when he told the al-Nujaba’a TV it will continue fighting until US troops withdraw from Iraq.  

“If we had to choose between being targeted and killed by the US attacks or accept a US occupation, we are ready to die fighting the US troops,” al-Shimmari said.

“We will not stop under any circumstances, even if the next Iraqi government cabinet is a friend of the US or an enemy of the US, we will not stop fighting and struggling against US troops until the departure of the last US soldier in Iraq,” al-Shimmari added.

Following months of heightened tensions between the US and Iran, rocket attacks on US infrastructure and personnel in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone and elsewhere in Iraq have become increasingly frequent.

On December 27, a rocket attack on the K-1 military base in Kirkuk, widely blamed on Kataib Hezbollah, killed a US civilian contractor and injured other personnel.

The US responded with airstrikes on Kataib Hezbollah targets on December 29, killing 25 of the militia’s fighters. A few days later, supporters of Kataib Hezbollah stormed the US embassy compound in Baghdad.

This was followed on January 3 by a US drone strike on Baghdad airport, killing Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and PMF deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Iran responded on January 8 with a barrage of missiles targeting Iraqi bases hosting US troops.

The deadliest rocket attack was conducted on March 11, in which more than a dozen Katyusha rockets targeted Taji military base, around 27 km north of Baghdad, killing two US personnel (one contractor and one soldier) and a Briton. 

Most recently on March 14, Kataib Hezbollah targeted Taji military base in a rare daytime attack with more than 30 Katyusha rockets, wounding three coalition troops and two Iraqis. 

The Iraqi government has long promised to capture the groups behind the attacks. To date, no one has been held responsible.

To protect its positions, the US has now deployed Patriot air defense batteries to Ain al-Assad military base in Anbar province and another to Erbil. 

Two more batteries destined for Iraq are still in Kuwait, according to AFP.

Despite the deployment, a newly established armed group called Usbat al-Tharieen released a statement on Monday claiming it had planned to target Ain al-Assad, but had canceled its operation due to the presence of Iraqi troops.