Parliament bloc representing Iran-backed paramilitary
militias say Israeli aggression 'declaration of war' on Iraq.
A
powerful bloc in Iraq's parliament has called
for the withdrawal of US troops from the country, following a series of air
raids targeting Iran-backed Shia militias in the country that have been blamed
on Israel.
The Fatah
Coalition said on Monday that it holds the United States fully responsible for the alleged Israeli aggression,
"which we consider to be a declaration of war on Iraq and its
people".
The coalition
is a parliament bloc representing Iran-backed paramilitary militias known as
the Popular Mobilization Forces.
The
coalition's statement came a day after a drone attack in the western Iraqi town
of Qaim killed a commander with the Forces - the latest in attacks apparently
conducted by Israel against the
Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. It added that US troops are no longer needed
in Iraq.
Israeli
also launched a similar
attack against
Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Beirut called a "declaration of
war".
The Iran-backed movement said late on
Monday that the drones were carrying explosives.
The Shia
militia group, meanwhile, held a funeral procession in Baghdad for the
commander killed on Sunday.
"There is
no greater God but God!" the mourners shouted as they marched behind a
banner with the words "Death to America" and "Death to
Israel." Some trampled on an American flag as they marched.
The Pentagon
issued a statement Monday denying responsibility for the recent attacks and
promising to cooperate with Iraqi investigations.
"We
support Iraqi sovereignty and have repeatedly spoken out against any potential
actions by external actors inciting violence in Iraq, " Pentagon spokesman
Jonathan R Hoffman said.
"The
government of Iraq has the right to control their own internal security and
protect their democracy."
Anger is
mounting in Iraq following a spate of mysterious air raids that have targeted
military bases and a weapons depot suspected of belonging to Iran-backed militias.
The drone
attacks have not been claimed by any side but US officials have said Israel was
behind at least one of the attacks.
The Shia
militias have blamed the attacks on Israel but hold its ally the US ultimately
responsible.
'Strikes won't break us'
The attacks
are threatening to destabilize security in Iraq, which has struggled to remain
neutral in the conflict between Washington and Tehran.
"These
strikes won't break us, they'll make us stronger," the militias'
Lieutenant General Hussein Abed Muttar told The Associated Press at the
funeral.
Along with the
commander, another member of the Shia militia was also killed in the drone
attack on Sunday evening near the Qaim border crossing with Syria.
The attack
targeted vehicles belonging to the Hezbollah Brigades faction, also known as
Brigade 45, which operates under the umbrella of the state-sanctioned Shia
militias.
US forces
withdrew from Iraq in 2011, but returned in 2014 at the invitation of the
government to help battle the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) armed group after it seized vast areas
in the north and west of the country, including Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul.
A
US-led coalition provided crucial air support as Iraqi forces regrouped and,
together with the PMF, drove ISIL out in a costly three-year campaign.
The US maintains about 5,000 troops in Iraq, and
some groups say there's no longer a justification for them to be there now that
ISIL has been defeated.
"While we reserve the right to respond to
these Zionist attacks, we hold the international coalition, particularly the
United States, fully responsible for this aggression which we consider a
declaration of war on Iraq and its people," the statement by the Fatah
Coalition said.
Iraqi President Barham Salih hosted a meeting on
Monday that included the prime minister and parliament speaker as well as PMF
militia leaders to discuss the recent attacks.
A statement issued after the meeting avoided
blaming the drone attacks on any specific country but described it as a
"blatant act of aggression" aimed at dragging the PMF away from its
ongoing role of eradicating remnants of ISIL.
Absent from the meeting were the leaders of two
of the most powerful factions strongly allied to Iran, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis
and Qais al-Khazali. An official who attended the meeting said they were in
Iran.
SOURCE: AP
NEWS AGENCY
