Iraqi unity threatened by US presence: Hashd al-Shaabi commander

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – A top officer with the Iranian-backed Shia militias accused the US and Gulf countries of plotting the assassination of Hashd al-Shaabi commanders in Iraq.

Jabbar al-Maamouri, a senior member of the Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), while speaking to a local Iraqi media outlet on Sunday warned of alleged assassination attempts made against Shia militia commanders.

“Adding some Hashd al-Shaabi factions on the US terror list is part of a plot against the entire outfit [PMF] because [the US and their allies] have failed in dividing and fragmenting Iraq,” al-Maamouri told al-Sumeriya.

The Shia militia commander accused the US of being involved in assassination attempts and alleged they were being supported by the Gulf States whom, he claims, have always considered the Hashd al-Shaabi a “threat to themselves and their projects” in the region.

He added that Iraq would continue to suffer “from conspiracies and acts of sedition” as long as the US remains present in the country and urged all parties to unite against them.

The remarks come as the US Congress continues to designate Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia militias as terrorist organizations.

Abdullatif al-Amidi, a commander in the Saraya al-Ashura, a faction of the PMF, recently threatened US troops and advisers based in Iraq, stating they should retreat from the country before they become the militias’ newest targets.

“The US has become our direct enemy,” al-Amidi said following Congress’ decision to include factions of the Hashd al-Shaabi to its terror list.

 Editing by Nadia Riva