Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah: We will crush US' malicious schemes in region

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
24 Aug 2023 00:21
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The Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah has issued a stern warning to the US occupation forces stationed in Iraq through a statement released on Wednesday.

Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah march in Baghdad, Iraq, on 31 May 2019 (AFP)

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah (Hezbollah Brigades) threatened the United States forces stationed in Iraq, indicating their readiness to counter American projects in the country.

The statement from the Brigades noted that the movements of US occupation convoys in some Iraqi cities are clear proof of the enemy's intransigence to keep its invading forces in the country.

The current US forces in Iraq are "of little value and significance compared to what the US army was before its defeat and expulsion in 2011," the Brigades stressed, underscoring the growing capabilities of the Iraqi Resistance, which have expanded beyond their previous capacities, as per the statement.

The Brigades directed a message to the US forces in Iraq, emphasizing that "muscle flexing" would be futile and asserting that if the Resistance decided to engage in battle, it would crush their malign projects in the region.

This comes shortly after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani announced that Iraq no longer required the presence of foreign combat units to combat the threat of ISIS. The Prime Minister's statement came during a meeting with military commanders, where he emphasized the nation's new phase of self-reliance in its fight against terrorism.

While maintaining a foothold in Iraq, the US is also occupying parts of Syria. The United States has been for years supporting the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militias, and the US-backed forces are currently occupying parts of the provinces of Al-Hasakah, Deir Ezzor, and Raqqa, where the largest Syrian oil and gas fields are located.

Convoys of tens of vehicles, including tankers loaded with stolen oil from oil fields occupied by US forces in Syria, are frequently seen crossing toward northern Iraq, in addition to trucks loaded with military equipment.

Congress has never authorized the Syrian intervention; however, "a bipartisan hawkish coalition, led by neoconservative Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), pushed through a resolution denouncing Trump for even considering a withdrawal of the illegal US occupation force."

What is more peculiar about US intervention in Syria is that although official accounts note that 500 American troops were stationed in Syria, evidence shows that the actual numbers swim between 2,000 and 4,000.