Khazali: Over 5,000 operations carried out against US forces
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According to the commander of Iraq's resistance group Asaib Ahl al-Haq, the group has carried out 5,000 operations against US occupation forces in Iraq.
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Qais al-Khazali, the leader of the militant Shiite group Asaib Ahl al-Haq speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Baghdad, Iraq. (AP)
According to the Secretary-General of Iraq's resistance group Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, the group has carried out 5,000 operations against occupying American soldiers in the Arab country.
On Saturday, Qais Khazali delivered a speech commemorating the movement's 20th anniversary.
“Operations against American occupiers will continue in Iraq,” Khazali vowed, adding that the movement was founded on concepts and ideals in which it fully believes.
Asaib Ahl al-Haq, according to Khazali, has played an important role in guarding Iraq's sacred places against Takfiri terrorists, adding, "We are ready to be the first people to lay down our lives for Iraq and its people."
He also stated that resistance organizations played an important role in safeguarding holy places in Syria when Takfiri terrorists attempted to destroy them.
His words came after a senior official with Iraq's Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, which is part of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), condemned the US military presence in the Arab country, stating American soldiers are a valid target as long as they are on Iraqi land.
Nasr Al-Shammari stated in late April that the organization has not reached an agreement with US troops to reduce tensions and cease retaliation attacks against American soldiers.
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“Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba does not adhere to any political agreement that includes a ceasefire or reduction of tensions with American occupation forces,” he said, adding, “Our official position concerning the deployment of US forces to Iraq has not changed at all.”
“We reiterate once again that the occupation forces are a legitimate target in Iraq and elsewhere across the West Asian region as long as they are present in Iraqi territories,” Shammari stated.
While the US claims to have concluded its combat operation in Iraq, around 2,500 US personnel remain in the country. Under pressure from Iraqis, US President Joe Biden and Iraq's then-Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said in July 2021 that the US mission in Iraq would shift from combat to "advisory" by the end of that year.
Anti-American feelings in Iraq have been seething over US military adventurism in the area, particularly since Washington assassinated Iraq's and Iran's senior anti-terror commanders three years ago.
General Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran's IRGC Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the PMU's second-in-command, were killed along with their comrades on January 3, 2020 in a US drone strike authorized by then-President Donald Trump near Baghdad International Airport.
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