"While we announce the suspension of military and security operations against the occupying forces - to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government - we will continue to protect our people in Gaza in other ways," Kataib Hezbollah commander Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi said in a statement.
A member of the Hashd al-Shaabi (paramilitary force) holds a flag of the Kataib Hezbollah militia group during a protest against airstrikes on their base, outside the main gate of the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq December 31, 2019. Photo: REUTERS
Three US soldiers were killed in a drone strike near the Jordan-Syria border on Sunday that the Pentagon said had the “footprint” of Kataib Hezbollah, although a final assessment has yet to be made. The US has vowed to respond to the attack.
Kataib Hezbollah is the most powerful faction in the Iraqi Islamic Resistance, a group of hardline Shiite armed factions that has carried out more than 150 attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria since the Gaza war began.
The United States has responded with deadly strikes in a cycle of escalating violence that Iraqi officials say threatens to undo progress in stabilizing the country after decades of conflict.
Kataib Hezbollah's decision comes after days of intense efforts by the Iraqi prime minister to prevent a new escalation following the Jordanian attack, according to his foreign affairs adviser Farhad Alaadin.
“Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani has been working hard over the past few days, engaging with all relevant parties inside and outside Iraq,” Alaadin said in an interview. “All parties need to support the Prime Minister’s efforts to prevent any possible escalation,” he added.
Formed after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah is one of the most elite armed factions in Iraq.
Mai Van (according to Reuters)
Source
Comment (0)