Resistance factions condemn US assassination of Iraqi leader
4 Min Read
Factions of the Axis of Resistance affirm that the US presence in Iraq and the region is a major cause of undermining security and stability.
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People, rescuers, and security forces gather around a vehicle hit by a US drone strike, in Baghdad on February 7, 2024. (Photo by MURTAJA LATEEF / AFP)
Several Resistance factions commented on the American assassination of a prominent leader of Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah, martyr Wisam Mohammed Saber (Abu Baqer Al-Saadi), on Wednesday night.
The US claimed responsibility for the attack, saying its forces conducted a unilateral strike in Iraq in response to the attacks on US service members, killing a Kataib Hezbollah commander.
Angered by the US aggression, Iraqis gathered at the scene of the attack furiously chanting against the US presence in the region, specifically in Iraq.
هتافات شعبية من مكان استشهاد القيادي في كتائب حزب الله في #العراق، أبو باقر الساعدي المعروف بأبي باقر ديالى#بغداد#الميادين pic.twitter.com/Cb5MYKzUAg
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) February 7, 2024
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed that the targeted commander was "responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on U.S. forces in the region."
The Secretary-General of Kataib Hezbollah, Ahmad al-Hamidawi, saluted martyr Abu Baqer al-Saedi and conveyed his condolences to his family.
The Iraqi al-Nujaba movement underlined that its response to the "American treacherous crime" will be focused, affirming that such crimes shall not go unanswered.
"Await the response; we will choose the appropriate time and place," al-Nujaba vowed, addressing the US.
On his part, the Secretary-General of the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq movement, Qais al-Khazali, considered that the continuation of American attacks is evidence of the US disregard for Iraq.
Al-Khazali noted that US attacks have not stopped despite the steps taken by the Iraqi government and the commitment of Iraqi Resistance factions to restraint.
He pointed out that condemnations are no longer enough, which requires Iraq to formally request the UN Security Council for an immediate withdrawal of foreign forces from the country.
The Iraqi leader stressed the need for Iraq to begin implementing practical measures to enhance its self-defense capabilities against any external aggression.
In the same context, the Political Bureau of the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement said it condemned the criminal American aggression, adding that the US presence in Iraq and the region is a major cause of undermining security and stability, and serves as a protection for the Israeli occupation entity.
Ansar Allah affirmed that repeated American attacks on the people of the nation will not affect its supportive stance for the Palestinian people.
Similarly, the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas extended its condolences to Iraq and held the Biden administration responsible for the escalation in the region.
Hamas reaffirmed that the region will not witness stability or peace until the end of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
In addition, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement strongly condemned the US aggression on Syria and Iraq that will lead to an escalation of regional tensions.
The PIJ said that the Iraqi and Syrian peoples are paying the price for their support for the Palestinian people in resisting the ongoing genocide war.
It is worth noting that Kataib Hezbollah is one faction among many others that operate under the umbrella of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. The faction announced earlier in late January that it will suspend all of its operations against US forces in the region but will continue to support Palestine in different ways.
The announcement came in a statement released by the group's Secretary-General Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi who said that the decision came to avoid any "embarrassment" to the Iraqi government.
The Secretary-General also commanded the fighters of Kataib Hezbollah to "adopt passive defense (temporarily)" and reactivate action "if any hostile US action occurs against them."
Although the faction did stop targeting US assets in the region, others continued to do so, bombarding several US facilities in Syria and Iraq.
The attack comes after the US killed 16 members of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an official branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces, on Saturday, in strikes that concentrated on the city of al-Qaim.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Secretary-General of the Badr Organization, a Resistance faction in Iraq, Hadi Al-Amiri, told Al Mayadeen, "The price of this pure and noble blood as a result of the treacherous American aggression on Iraq and targeting the positions of the Popular Mobilization [Forces] will be the exit of the occupier at the nearest opportunity."
Read more: Iraqi PMF chief: Government's work to end US occupation 'essential'
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
