Iraq’s resistance to go tough if diplomacy fails to expel US forces: Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq

Iraq’s resistance forces will go tough if the Baghdad government fails to ensure the pullout of US forces through diplomatic means, the leader of a faction of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) has warned.

Qais al-Khazali, the chief of Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, stated on Wednesday that the success of Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani’s visit to Washington depends on the formulation of a road map for the withdrawal of US-led foreign troops from the Iraqi soil, and the establishment of economic sovereignty over the country’s natural wealth.

Khazali said pro-US media outlets have been promoting the risk of re-emergence of the Daesh Takfiri terrorists in line with their futile attempts to blackmail the Iraqi government.

Khazali further emphasized that Iraqi resistance fighters are ready to use force to expel foreign forces if they refuse to leave the country through diplomatic avenues.

The Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq chief said even though Daesh was formed to serve certain political purposes, the noble Iraqi nation thwarted the plot and will hopefully neutralize all new schemes aimed at harming the sovereignty and dignity of Iraqis.

Turning to the ongoing Israeli atrocities in Gaza, Khazali said the developments were “wholly unacceptable.” He said the entire international community must act to stop the Zionist regime’s crimes against women and children.

“What we are witnessing in Gaza as destruction and killing of civilians is a dark stain on humanity. The United States supports the Zionist regime by supplying munitions. The usurping regime uses the weapons to kill Palestinians, who are defending their land and cause.”

Iraq adopted the law to expel foreign forces after Washington’s assassination of top Iraqi and Iranian anti-terror commanders in 2020.

General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of the PMU, were martyred along with their comrades in a US drone strike authorized by then President Donald Trump near Baghdad International Airport on January 3 that year.

The two iconic anti-terror commanders are greatly revered for their instrumental role in fighting and decimating Daesh in the region, most notably in Iraq and neighboring Syria.