Iranian-backed militia celebrates 'US defeat' in Iraq

“The defeat of the occupier [US] led to the restoration of Iraq’s sovereignty which the US wanted to violate.”

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The head of Iranian-backed militia Asaib Ahl al-Haq recently called on the Iraqi government and Parliament to review the United States’ military presence in the country.

During a ceremony over the weekend marking the anniversary of “victory and liberation” over the US in Iraq, Qais al-Khazali, head of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq Shia militia—a faction within the Hashd al-Shaabi—said defeating America in the country was a victory against the most powerful force in the world.

“We are honored to celebrate the 6th anniversary of the US defeat,” Khazali said while addressing supporters in Baghdad.

“The defeat of the occupier [US] led to the restoration of Iraq’s sovereignty which the US wanted to violate,” he stated, adding the Asaib Ahl al-Haq inflicted damages to American troops “without killing the innocent or relying on suicide bombings.”

He explained that his group’s offensive forced Washington “to create an alternative project by creating the Islamic State (IS) as a reason to return to Iraq.”

The militia leader noted that it was the responsibility of the government and the Parliament to review the real number of foreign troops in Iraq.

“We emphasize the need to review the presence of foreign troops that came to the country to assist Iraqi forces in the fight against IS,” he said.

Meanwhile, another Iranian-backed militia, the Hezbollah Brigades, this week celebrated what they called the anniversary of “the US’ defeat” in Iraq.

The militia group called on US troops to withdraw from the country and urged the Iraqi government and Parliament to take a decisive position against American military presence in the country.

The Hezbollah Brigades and Asaib Ahl al-Haq—among the leading factions in the Iranian-backed Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militias—were involved in dozens of attacks on US troops, including the killing of American soldiers following the liberation of Iraq in 2003.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany