Iraqi parties, politicians condemn US airstrikes against multiple PMU positions
The United States has carried out a series of airstrikes against multiple locations of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), also known as Hashd al-Sha’abi, only a day after more than a dozen of the Iraqi fighters were killed by airstrikes targeting an area in Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zour.
The United States has carried out a series of airstrikes against multiple locations of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), also known as Hashd al-Sha’abi, only a day after more than a dozen of the Iraqi fighters were killed by airstrikes targeting an area in Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zour.
The early Friday US airstrikes were carried out about 24 hours after at least 18 PMU fighters were killed in air raids targeting an area southeast of the city of al-Bukamal in eastern Syria and near the border with Iraq.
That deadly attack was conducted hours after the US-led military coalition announced that three of its personnel - two Americans and one Briton - had been killed in a rocket attack on Iraq's Taji military camp, located some 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) north of Baghdad.
Following the recent US airstrike against multiple locations across the country, Iraqi President, Foreign Ministry, and some other groups and parties reacted, condemning the aggression of US forces.
In this regard, Iraqi President Barham Salih condemned the airstrikes, stressing that such attacks are a violation of national sovereignty and a systematic weakening of the country’s capabilities.
According to the statement released on Friday, the Iraqi President called on the international community to respect Iraq’s national sovereignty and its decisions.
Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also summoned the US and British ambassadors to Baghdad in response to Washington's recent aggression against the headquarters of Hashd al-Sha’abi.
Fatah Alliance, a political coalition in Iraq also reacted to the US aggression, stressing that there is no solution except the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq.
It also emphasized that Washington's intention is to destroy Iraq's infrastructure, saying that the recent US attacks represent an egregious, overt and repeated aggression on the Iraqi people and armed forces.
Condemning the US attacks on Iraqi military and civilian positions, the leader of the Sadr movement Muqtada al-Sadr called for restraint and for the spread of peace in all areas of Iraq and the abandonment of violence.
The spokesman of Kata'ib Hezbollah called the US attack on the headquarters of Hashd al-Sha’abi in line with its efforts to undermine the legitimate resistance of the Iraqi people to the American occupiers, stressing that the United States is seeking to bolster its presence in Iraq by all means.
Al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance also reacted to US aggression by issuing a strong statement, saying, “The United States continues to commit crimes and attacks on the headquarters of Hashd al-Sha’abi, the Iraqi army and Karbala civilian airport by its illegal occupier forces in Iraq.”
“Continuation of American stupidity and arrogance will lead to a conflict in the region where the rules of conflict will change,” it added.
In reaction to Friday airstrike, Leader of the National Wisdom Movement of Iraq Seyyed Ammar al-Hakim also called on the government to defend its sovereignty in the face of US aggression.
He also condemned the US airstrike against multiple locations across Iraq, warning that Iraq will become a place for political and military conflict during these invasions.
Source: Tehran Times