A leader and another member of Hashd al-Shaabi, a coalition of armed groups close to Iran, were killed on Thursday, January 4, in Baghdad by a “drone attack.” The Iraqi Government denounced an “aggression” perpetrated by the international anti-jihadist coalition, led by the United States, without pointing out Washington directly.
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The repercussions of the Gaza war continue in Iraq. A leader and another member of the pro-Iran armed group Hashd al-Shaabi were killed on Thursday, January 4, in Baghdad by a “drone attack” attributed to the United States.
The Iraqi Government, supported by pro-Iranian parties, for its part alluded to an “aggression” against Iraq perpetrated by the international anti-jihadist coalition, without however pointing out Washington by name.
In recent weeks, the armed groups of the Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi have been the target of bombings on several occasions, some of which have been claimed by the United States, a country vilified by pro-Iran factions for its support of Israel in the conflict that broke out on October 7 after the unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israeli soil.
A cell affiliated with the Hashd al-Shaabi called the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” almost systematically claims responsibility for drone and rocket attacks against US troops and those of the international anti-jihadist coalition deployed in Iraq.
Thursday's drone attack targeted “a Hashd al-Shaabi logistics support center” in the east of the Iraqi capital, a security official said on condition of anonymity, adding that “two members (of Hashd al -Shaabi) died and seven others were injured.”
“The deputy commander of operations for Baghdad, Mushtaq Talib al-Saïdi, “fell as a martyr in an American attack,” declared the Al-Nujaba movement, one of these pro-Iranian and fiercely anti-American factions, in a statement.
A Hashd al-Shaabi source confirmed this figure and attributed the attack to US forces.
Asked by journalists, a US military official did not immediately react.
Iraqi sources reported that two members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (known as Hashd al-Shaabi) were killed and 6 others were wounded in an attack in Baghdad, #Iraq. pic.twitter.com/fQ3iSpKG5O
— Iran Nuances (@IranNuances) January 4, 2024
In videos posted on a Telegram channel close to Hashd al-Shaabi, plumes of smoke could be seen rising into the sky from the building on Palestine Street, a busy shopping street in Baghdad.
Almost daily attacks against foreign forces
The Iraqi government of Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Soudani called the attack a “dangerous escalation and aggression,” which it blamed on the international coalition.
Brought to power by a pro-Iranian parliamentary majority, his government is forced to carry out a delicate balancing act to preserve his country's strategic ties with Washington.
Some of the parties that support Mohamed Shia al-Soudani are the political showcase of factions of the Hashd al-Shaabi, a coalition of former Shiite paramilitaries close to Iran and now integrated into the Iraqi regular forces.
US troops and those of the international anti-jihadist coalition deployed in Iraq and Syria have been the target of almost daily drone and rocket attacks since the start of the war, on October 7, between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza.
Since October 17, the United States has recorded more than a hundred attacks against its troops in Iraq and Syria.
Washington has about 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria, as part of an effort to combat a possible resurgence of jihadists from the Islamic State group.
With AFP
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