News / Iraq

Military action ‘necessary’ to expel US occupation forces from Iraq: Resistance leader

Saturday, 17 August 2024 11:08 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 17 August 2024 11:08 AM ]

Secretary General of Iraq's Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq resistance group, Qais al-Khazali (file photo)

The leader of the Iraqi Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq resistance group has underlined the need for combined diplomatic and military efforts to drive out foreign troops from the country, stating that military action is “obligatory and necessary” to expel American occupation forces.

“If diplomatic negotiations over the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq are not accompanied by the resistance front’s military action, American troops will not leave Iraqi soil,” Qais al-Khazali said on Friday.

He added, “The forces, who are illegally present in Iraq and in a flagrant violation of the country’s constitution, will never leave the Iraqi territory through diplomatic means.”

“Resistance factions’ [military] action is, therefore, obligatory and necessary in order to compel US military forces to leave Iraq and fully restore national sovereignty,” the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq chief noted.

The remarks came a day after Iraq delayed the announcement of an end date for the US-led coalition’s mission in the country, citing recent regional developments.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said there are no US combat forces in Iraq, only advisors operating under the coalition umbrella, adding that the advisors are subject to the Joint Higher Military Commission, which was jointly created by Iraq and the United States to supervise the coalition mission in Iraq.

The ministry said the two sides were nearing an agreement on a withdrawal timeline, but “recent events” had pushed back the announcement.

Explainer: Why is Ain al-Assad US military base under Iraqi resistance attack again?

The Ain al-Assad airbase of US occupation forces in western Iraq came under rocket attacks twice in less than 12 hours on Monday, resulting in several military casualties.

Iraqi resistance groups have been pressing for an end to the presence of foreign forces in Iraq more than a decade after a US-led coalition invaded the country in a blatant violation of international law based on false claims of it being in possession of weapons of mass destruction.

There are nearly 2,500 American troops in Iraq and some 900 in Syria as part of what Washington claims to be a fighting force against Daesh.

The US has maintained its presence, although the Arab countries and their allies defeated the Takfiri terrorist group in late 2017.

In 2020, the Iraqi parliament voted in favor of the expulsion of the foreign forces after a US drone strike assassinated Iran’s top anti-terror commander, General Qassem Soleimani, and deputy commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) counter-terrorism force, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, outside Baghdad International Airport.

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