The relationship between Washington and Baghdad regarding the presence of US troops in Iraq has been a subject of ongoing negotiation….reports Asian Lite News
Iraq’s Kataeb Hezbollah has reiterated its demand for the withdrawal of US troops from the country, marking a resurgence of pressure on American forces after a period of relative calm.
The Iran-backed militia, known for its hostility towards US presence in Iraq, suspended attacks against American troops some months ago but has now resumed its call for their departure, AFP reported.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Kataeb Hezbollah, Abu Ali Al-Askari, criticized both the United States and the Iraqi government for what the group perceives as a lack of seriousness in addressing its demands.
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Al-Askari highlighted the group’s frustration with the continued presence of US troops and the alleged existence of American spy bases in Iraq, emphasizing the need for their removal.
The relationship between Washington and Baghdad regarding the presence of US troops in Iraq has been a subject of ongoing negotiation.
US forces are stationed in Iraq as part of an international coalition aimed at combating jihadist groups, including the Islamic State (IS). However, Kataeb Hezbollah views the US military presence as an occupation and has consistently advocated for its withdrawal.
In April, five rockets were fired from Iraq toward a US military base in neighbouring Syria. The attack occurred when unidentified fighters launched the rockets from an Iraqi village near the town of Zummar, northwest of Mosul, the provincial capital of Nineveh, toward northeastern Syrian territories, the unnamed source from the provincial police said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported a failed attempt by Iranian-backed groups to attack a US base at the Kharab al-Jir airport with drones in the northern countryside of Syria’s northeastern province of al-Hasakah, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Britain-based watchdog group said the US ground defences successfully intercepted and shot down the drones before they reached the base.
Following the drone attack, the Iranian-backed fighters launched missiles on the Kharab al-Jir base, said the observatory, adding that US ground defences engaged in intercepting targets in the sky. There were no casualties reported within the base.
The war monitor noted that the Iranian-backed Islamic resistance groups stationed in Iraq were behind the attacks.
Last month, a convoy of US forces plundered more Syrian sources, taking out trucks of oil and grain through an illegal crossing with Iraq, the media reported.
According to the state news agency SANA report released on Monday, 69 vehicles, including 45 tankers with oil and 24 trucks with wheat, were observed exiting the illegal Al-Mahmudiyah crossing on their way to Iraq.
The resources were looted from northeastern Syria’s Al-Hasakah province, and it is believed that the convoy’s destination is US bases in northern Iraq, said the report.
Civilian sources in the countryside of Al-Hasakah near the Iraqi border said that US forces have intensified operations to loot and plunder Syrian resources from areas under their control in the province, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Syrian government has been accusing the US forces of “pillaging Syrian resources,” a move that further exacerbates the economic hardships facing the war-torn country.
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