Khazali: we will respond to US if Iraqi bloodshed continues

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Qais Khazali, the Secretary-General of Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq of Iraq, stated that the danger of ISIS, which the United States uses as a pretense to stay in Iraq, is gone. He indicated that the reason behind the presence of thousands of foreign fighters in Iraq is actually to protect 'Israel'.

Khazali accused the United States of killing millions of Iraqi people, pointing that the raid targeted a site for the military security service, an asset of the Iraqi state.

Iraqis held a funeral procession for the members of the 14th brigade of the Popular Mobilization Forces, who rose as martyrs as a result of the US aggression on the Syrian-Iraqi borders.

The Popular Mobilization Forces issued a statement Monday regarding the US aggression on its forces west of Al Anbar, saying that "the US aircraft targeted three sites of our forces in Al Qa'im inside the Iraqi borders."

In its statement, the Popular Mobilization Forces said that the attack resulted in 4 martyrs who were performing their duty to prevent the infiltration of ISIS militants from Syria into Iraq, explaining that "they were performing their duty under the command of joint operations and were not actively engaging against the foreign presence."

The forces also underscored that "the PMF points that were attacked do not include any warehouses or the like, contrary to the US allegations," stressing that they "retain the legal right to respond to these attacks and hold their perpetrators accountable on Iraqi soil."

It considered that the attack comes within the framework of undermining Iraq, its security forces, and the crowd in favor of strengthening terrorist groups, noting that it targets Iraq's sovereignty. In the statement, they also commended the government's stances and its keenness to resolve the issue of removing foreign forces.