Iraqi Hezbollah suspends operations against United States
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The Secretary-General of the Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah announces that the Resistance faction will be suspending its operations against the US occupation forces in the region.
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The military spokesperson for the Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah, Jaafar al-Husseini (Al Mayadeen)
The Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah have suspended their operations against the US occupation forces in Syria and Iraq so as to not go against the wishes of the Iraqi government, Secretary-General Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi said on Tuesday.
The Islamic Resistance "has taken the decision to support the people of Gaza without any intervention from foreign parties," al-Hamidawi said.
He added that the Iraqi Resistance faction would continue defending Gaza through means other than armed struggle.
"Our brothers in the Axis [of Resistance], especially in Iran, do not know the specifics of our jihadist work, and they have repeatedly declared opposition to our escalation against the US forces in Iraq and Syria," he added.
The Secretary-General also commanded the fighters of Kataib Hezbollah to "adopt passive defense (temporarily) if any hostile US action occurs against them."
Just one week ago, the Iraqi Resistance announced that it had transited to the second phase of its operations in which it will work on enforcing blockading Mediterranean maritime routes to the Israeli-occupied ports in occupied Palestine, the Secretary General of the Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Abu Alaa al-Walai announced in a post on X.
The leader of Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, a faction that operates under the umbrella of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, made the announcement following US strikes that targeted members of the Iraqi government's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
The US aggression led to the martyrdom of a member of the PMF in al-Qaim, while a PMF training facility was damaged in Jurf al-Nasr.
"While the Americans continue targeting our forces, our mujahideen have begun the second phase of their operations," al-Walai posted on X.
Moreover, the Iraqi faction's decision comes in the wake of the Pentagon saying the attack that killed three US soldiers and wounded more than 50 others in Jordan "carried the footprints" of Kataib Hezbollah.
"We don't seek war, but we will take action, and respond to attacks on our forces," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said.
The Pentagon added that while it would not disclose the nature of the response to the operation that targeted the US forces, "We consider Iran responsible for them."
Nothing further was disclosed about the US attack, with Washington saying it would "respond at a time and place that suits us."
US President Joe Biden has blamed "radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq," likely referring to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which announced earlier this month that they would escalate their attacks after the US conducted several raids in Iraq and assassinated a military official in central Baghdad.
Biden also reaffirmed that the US forces are now "still gathering the facts of this attack," stressing, "We will carry on their commitment to fight terrorism. And have no doubt -- we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing."
