The political chief of an Iraqi militia involved in attacks on U.S. troops has told Newsweek that strikes could resume as tensions continue to mount over a war in Gaza that has sparked crises across the Middle East.
The Nujaba Movement, also known as Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, is one of several groups operating under the collective banner of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. The coalition is part of the broader Iran-aligned Axis of Resistance, and its fighters have fired rockets and drones at both Israel and U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria throughout the war raging between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement in Gaza.
The Iraqi militia campaign against U.S. troops was largely paused in February, however, after the deaths of three U.S. soldiers in one such attack at the border between Jordan and Syria drew intensive U.S. airstrikes against the Islamic Resistance in Iraq’s positions.
But new U.S. strikes conducted Monday in Iraq have again spurred outrage along with calls for a resumption of operations against U.S. troops in a country that militias claim is being occupied against international law.
“This illegal and illegitimate presence is adorned by assassinations inside Iraqi territory and of members of the Iraqi security forces without the knowledge of the Iraqi government,” Sheikh Ali-Asadi, head of the Nujaba Movement Political Bureau, told Newsweek.
“All of this gives justification to the resistance factions and the Iraqi people to confront them and liberate their land from these forces that violate the rights and dignity of the Iraqis,” he added.
Anger over the U.S. strikes was compounded by the fact that they roughly coincided with the killing of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital of Tehran, an unclaimed act widely blamed on Israel. Less than 24 hours earlier, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed to have killed one of the most senior commanders of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement in Beirut.
Both killings have sparked vows for vengeance from Iran, Hezbollah and other Axis of Resistance factions, including the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, now further incensed by the deaths of its own fighters.
The collective fallout has prompted one of the most precarious moments for the U.S. in the Middle East since the slaying of Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Major General Qassem Soleimani in January 2020, an act for which Iran continues to issue threats to former President Donald Trump.
Soon after Soleimani’s slaying in Baghdad, Iraqi lawmakers voted for the immediate expulsion of U.S. troops. Trump then began a reduction of the number of soldiers in Iraq and his successor, President Joe Biden, declared an end to the “combat” mission of U.S. personnel against the Islamic State militant group ( ISIS) in the country the following year, yet neither opted for a total exit.
Today, around 2,500 U.S. troops remain in the country on a training and advisory mission. Discussions over their fate and that of the broader U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement began earlier this year through the U.S.-Iraq Higher Military Commission, but the Pentagon has signaled no plans to pull U.S. forces out entirely, further fueling calls for an end to the informal truce with militias.
“The origin of the American presence is illegal and illegitimate,” Asadi said, “especially after the parliamentary decision to end the American military presence in Iraq, as well as the million-strong demonstrations of the Iraqi people to expel the occupying forces.”
“As for their presence on the basis of the Strategic Framework Agreement that is planned to be completed,” he added, “it is also now illegal and in violation of international laws because they occupy the skies of Iraq and violate its airspace.”
U.S. officials have claimed the recent strikes in Iraq were conducted in anticipation of a drone attack being planned by unidentified forces on the ground.
One U.S. defense official speaking on background told Newsweek that “U.S. forces in Iraq conducted a defensive airstrike in the Musayib in Babil Province, targeting combatants attempting to launch one-way attack uncrewed aerial systems (OWAUAS).”
“Based on recent attacks in Iraq and Syria, U.S. Central Command assessed that the OWAUAS posed a threat to U.S. and Coalition Forces,” the defense official said. “This action underscores the United States’ commitment to the safety and security of our personnel. “
“We maintain the inherent right to self-defense and will not hesitate to take appropriate action,” the defense official added.
Kataib Hezbollah, also a member of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, claimed the strike targeted experts carrying out tests of reconnaissance drones being fielded to provide security during the upcoming pilgrimage to the holy city of Karbala for Arbaeen. The group alleged that the strike was launched from a U.S. military base in neighboring Kuwait and issued warnings to both countries, along with an appeal to Baghdad.
“We demand that the Iraqi government work hard to end the presence of the occupation forces,” Kataib Hezbollah said in a statement, “and we urge the people’s representatives to have a clear position that works to expel the Americans from the country.”
The strike was also condemned by the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Iraq’s state-backed paramilitary branch that officially includes a number of Islamic Resistance in Iraq factions, including Kataib Hezbollah and the Nujaba Movement. The umbrella organization, which continues to conduct operations against ISIS, echoed demands for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
“The brutal aggressive operation that took place against our forces in the Popular Mobilization Forces in the north of Babil Governorate calls upon us to carry out all our national, legal and legitimate responsibilities in defending Iraq’s sovereignty and dignity,” the PMF said in a statement, “and to unify efforts to take an immediate decision to withdraw foreign forces from our country.”
The PMF also accused the U.S. of plotting with Israel “to ignite the region and expand the circle of war and aggression” given Haniyeh’s killing around the same time. Posters of Haniyeh were present alongside images of those killed in the U.S. strikes in Iraq during recent funeral processions outside of Baghdad.
The growing fury has also compounded existing concerns in the Iraqi government over its ability to balance its longstanding security partnership with the U.S. and its capacity to rein in militias demanding an immediate U.S. exit.
“Despite extensive efforts through political and diplomatic channels, as well as the efforts of the Higher Military Commission, which have reached advanced stages in the efforts of ending the presence and operations of the Global Coalition against Daesh in Iraq and transitioning to a bilateral security relationship based on mutual respect and safeguarding Iraq’s sovereignty and security, the coalition forces have committed a heinous crime and blatant aggression,” Iraqi military spokesperson Major General Yahya Rasool said in a statement Tuesday.
Rasool warned that such “serious and uncalculated transgressions can significantly undermine all efforts, mechanisms, and frameworks of joint security work to combat ISIS in Iraq and Syria,” and “also risk dragging Iraq and the entire region into dangerous conflicts and wars.”
“Therefore,” he added, “we hold the coalition forces fully responsible for these consequences following this flagrant aggression.”
Newsweek has reached out to the Iraqi Government and the PMF for comment.
