Iran-backed militia officer downplays US attacks in Iraq, hints at cuts

BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iraqi militia officer signaled Saturday a desire to ease tensions in the Middle East. counter attack Launched against dozens of sites used by the United States in Iraq and Syria Iranian backed militia and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Hussein al-Mosawi, a spokesman for Harakat al-Nujaba, one of the main Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, condemned the U.S. strikes in an interview with The Associated Press in Baghdad, saying Washington “must understand that every action has a reaction.” Is.” But then he added in a more cordial tone, “We do not want to escalate or escalate regional tensions.”

Mosavi said the targeted sites in Iraq were largely devoid of fighters and military personnel at the time of the attack. Suggesting that not much damage has been done may allow him to justify the lack of a strong response.

Syrian state media reported there were casualties in the attacks but did not provide numbers. Rami Abdurrahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the Syrian attacks killed 23 people, all rank-and-file fighters.

Iraqi government spokesman Basim al-Awadi said in a statement on Saturday that the attacks in Iraq near the Syrian border killed 16 people, including civilians, and caused “significant damage” to homes and private property.

Iraq’s Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that it would recall the US Embassy’s charge d’affaires – the ambassador – out of the country to express formal protest over US attacks on “Iraqi military and civilian sites”.

The air strike was the initial attack of American retaliation Three American soldiers killed in drone attack Last weekend in Jordan. The US has blamed the Islamic resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iran-backed militias, for this.

Iran, meanwhile, has attempted to distance itself from the attack, saying the militias act independently of its direction.

Iraqi spokesman al-Awadi condemned these attacks as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, especially since some of them targeted Population Mobilization Forces facilities. The PMF, a coalition of Iran-backed militias, was officially brought under the umbrella of the Iraqi Armed Forces after joining the fight against Islamic State in 2014, but in practice it operates largely outside state control. Continues.

The Popular Mobilization Forces said in a statement on Saturday that one of the sites targeted was the group’s official security headquarters. In addition to the 16 deaths, 36 were injured, it said, “while the search for bodies of several missing people is still ongoing.”

The Iraqi government is in a fragile state after a group of Iran-backed Iraqi militias calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq – many of whose members are also part of the PMF – began attacks on US targets in Iraq and Syria on October 18 Are. The group described the attacks as retaliation for Washington’s support for Israel in the war in Gaza.

Iraqi officials have attempted to rein in the militias behind the scenes, condemning US retaliatory strikes as a violation of the country’s sovereignty and maintaining 2,500 US troops in the country as part of the international coalition to fight IS. There has been a call to take him out. Last month, Iraqi and US military officials began formal talks to reduce the coalition’s presence, a process that will likely take years.

Kata’ib Hezbollah, one of the main Iran-backed militias, said it was halting attacks on US troops to avoid “embarrassing” the Iraqi government after Sunday’s strike that killed US soldiers in Jordan.

Abby Sewell and Bassem Maroué in Beirut contributed to this report.

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