Hezbollah engaged in fighting ISIL in Iraq

The head of Hezbollah says the Lebanese resistance movement has been fighting the ISIL Takfiri group in Iraq.

“We may not have spoken about Iraq before, but we have a limited presence because of the sensitive phase that Iraq is going through,” Nasrallah said on Monday in a speech delivered in commemoration of Hezbollah’s martyrs, Sheikh Ragheb Harb, Sayyed Abbas al-Mousawi and Hajj Imad Moughhnieh, in Sayyed al-Shuhadaa Complex in Dahiyeh, located in the southern suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut.

The Iraqi army along with volunteer forces and tribesmen are fighting against the ISIL terrorist group which currently controls large areas of Iraq and Syria. The group sent its militants into Iraq in June 2014, seizing large parts of land straddling the border between Syria and Iraq.

Fighters from Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement have been backing the Syrian army in the fight against the Takfiri militants operating inside Syria.

“I call for those who are urging us to withdraw from Syria to join us in our fight in Syria. Let’s go to Iraq and everywhere to face off this threat because this is the right way to defend Lebanon,” Nasrallah said.

Jordan’s duplicity

Nasrallah further criticized Jordan’s double standards in the fight against terrorism, saying that all terrorist groups follow the same mentality.

“Jordan cannot fight ISIL in Iraq and support al-Nusra in Syria, terrorist groups are all faces of the same coin.”

The al-Qaeda liked al-Nusra Front and the ISIL terrorist group have “the same essence, ideology, culture and methodology,” the head of Hezbollah said, adding, “The only difference between them was over leadership, but they are essentially one and the same.”

“All the Takfiri currents must be fought, without distinction,” he further noted.

Nasrallah’s remarks came as Jordan has vowed to intensify airstrikes against ISIL strongholds following the immolation of a Jordanian pilot held hostage by the terrorist group.

Several Arab countries, including Jordan, are taking part in the US-led military coalition that has purportedly been targeting ISIL positions in Syria without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate.

This is while the same Arab countries have been accused of supporting the Takfiris in Syria and Iraq, where the ISIL terrorists have been wreaking havoc.

“How can some countries in the (Persian) Gulf take part in the (US-led) international coalition against Daesh, while giving money and weapons to the al-Nusra Front… How is that logical?” Nasrallah added.

Bahrain regime ‘terrified’

Nasrallah also described the government in Bahrain as a “terrified” regime, saying Hezbollah supports the Bahraini people.

“There is a terrified and weak government in Bahrain that fears any word of right, it even threatens to expel the Lebanese,” Nasrallah said.

Nasrallah slammed the countries that criticize Hezbollah’s stance on the developments in Bahrain, adding those arm militants, including ISIL, in Syria cannot criticize Hezbollah’s position on Bahrain.

“We did not call for toppling the regime in Bahrain, we only supported those who were calling for dialogue,” he further noted.

On January 9, Nasrallah highlighted the peaceful nature of anti-regime protests in Bahrain during a ceremony marking the birthday of Prophet Mohammad.

The Hezbollah leader further slammed the detention of Bahraini opposition leader, Sheikh Ali Salman, last month.

“The people of Bahrain have legitimate rights. They decided to launch peaceful revolution in contrary to other movements in the world. They are shot but they didn’t shoot (a bullet). They were killed on roads, but they didn’t kill anyone and held no knife,” Nasrallah said.

In a letter posted on Twitter on January 12, dozens of Bahraini activists praised Nasrallah’s support for their uprising and said the Lebanese resistance movement “didn’t hesitate to stand by our demands of justice, freedom and dignity”.

Dozens of Bahrainis used the hashtag #شكرا_لنصر_الله (Thanks_to_Nasrallah) in their Tweets.

“You always stand by the oppressed people in the world. And your support to the Bahraini people is because that you know very well we are righteous people who are abandoned by the political regimes and the governments which don’t care but for its interests,” the Bahraini activists addressed Nasrallah.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of protesters have been holding held numerous rallies in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.

The Manama regime has, however, responded to the peaceful protest rallies by launching a heavy-handed crackdown on demonstrators and political dissidents.

Bahrain has come under harsh criticism by many human rights groups for brutal clampdown on peaceful gatherings and numerous cases of human rights violations.

Yemen’s Houthis rightful

The head of Hezbollah praised the Houthi movement in Yemen for their contribution to restrain the expansion of Takfiri groups in the region.

He further described the Yemen’s Shia Ansarullah movement as “rightful”, “brave” and “wise”.

Over the past months, al-Qaeda militants have frequently carried out attacks on Yemen’s security forces. The militants have been also engaged in battles with Ansarullah.

In September 2014, Ansarullah fighters gained control of the capital city of Sana’a, following a four-day battle with army forces loyal to General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, the half-brother of the country’s former dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The Ansarullah revolutionaries say the Yemeni government has been incapable of properly running the affairs of the country and providing security.

Israel ISIL’s sole beneficiary

The leader of the Lebanese resistance movement further noted that Israel is the only entity in the region of the Middle East that benefits from the ISIL Takfiri group.

“All world…consider ISIL a huge threat, except Israel,” Nasrallah said. “ISIL agenda had immensely served the Israeli.”

ISIL against Islam and Christianity

Nasrallah condemned execution of Egyptian Coptic Christians by ISIL Takfiris Libya, noting, “We extend our condolences to the Egyptian people and the Coptic Church, this crime has affected both Islam and Christianity.”

The ISIL Takfiri terrorists released a five-minute video on Sunday showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians kidnapped in Libya.

The video showed the handcuffed hostages dressed in orange jumpsuits, similar to previous ISIL victims, kneeling down along the seaside near the Libyan capital city of Tripoli.

The ISIL had earlier published the photos of the 21 Egyptian workers, claiming that the pictures were taken moments before their decapitation.

The victims, whose photos were published in the latest online edition of the ISIL magazine Dabiq, were reportedly abducted in the Libyan coastal city of Sirte in two attacks in December last year and January.