The latest round of US airstrikes in Iraq on late evening of Wednesday, February 7 killed several people including a top leader of Kataib Hezbollah, one of the resistance forces in the country waging a battle against the presence of the foreign troops in the country and in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
According to the official account of Hashd al-Shaabi or Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), the suspected drone attack targeted and killed Abu Baqer al-Saadi also known as Abu Baqer Diyala, a top commander of Kataib Hezbollah, one of its constituents.
According to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), al-Saadi was targeted in an unilateral strike at around 9:30 pm on Wednesday when he was traveling by a car in eastern Baghdad.
At least two more individuals were killed and two others injured in the strike.
Following the outbreak of the news of the attack hundreds of Iraqis gathered on the spot of the attack and started chanting slogans against the US and demanding the immediate withdrawal of its forces from the country.
At the scene of the bombing there is anger and rage towards the American military occupation which is butchering Iraqis day and night. pic.twitter.com/tcQa6ANJXt
— أبو سجاد الكربلائي | HST 🇮🇶 (@Twelver313) February 7, 2024
PMF is a part of the Iraqi armed forces and has the status of an semi-official militia group for its contribution during Iraq’s war against ISIS between 2014 and 2017.
Following the assassination of its commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a US drone strike in January 2020, PMF has demanded withdrawal of all US troops in the country and launched several attacks against the US forces in the region.
Ever since the outbreak of the Israeli war in Gaza, the group is seen instrumental in supporting the so-called Islamic Resistance, an umbrella organization in the country which has carried out more than 160 attacks against the US forces in the region. It has stated that the attacks on US bases will continue until the war in Gaza ends and all foreign troops withdraw from the region.
The Islamic Resistance also took responsibility for the attacks on one of the US bases on the Syria-Jordan border on January 28 killing three soldiers and wounding over 40.
Though Kataib Hezbollah had announced suspension of its attacks against the US forces in the region following the January 28 attacks, citing its attempts to avoid embarrassment for the Iraqi government and seeking deescalation, the US claimed that al-Saadi was responsible for planning and executing the January 28 attacks.
At least 16 members of the PMF were also killed by the US during its February 2 attacks inside multiple locations in Iraq. The US had claimed the strikes were in response to the January 28 attack.
Leader of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, Sheikh Qais al-Khazali, issued a statement condemning the attack on Wednesday. “The continued American attacks on Iraqi lives, and the violation of our country’s sovereignty, is evidence of the American contempt and disdain for the Iraqi government and people,” he said and demanded immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from the country.
Iraq’s ruling alliance, the Coordination Framework also issued a statement calling the attacks an assault on “Iraqi sovereignty by the US forces and their transgression of red lines by going after official forces and men.” It warned that the US’ “persisting in this manner could lead to an indefinite number of counterattacks” and emphasized that the Iraqi government will continue its efforts to end the presence of foreign troops in the country, country’s official Iraqi News Agency reported.
Most of the other Iraqi political groups and regional resistance groups such as Ansarallah in Yemen condemned the US attacks.
