While the Biden administration has yet to formally attribute blame for a rocket attack that hit Al Asad airbase in Iraq on Wednesday, anonymous US officials are telling the media that an “Iranian-backed” militia was responsible.
Two officials told Politico that they believe Kataib Hezbollah or an affiliated group was involved in the attack. Kataib Hezbollah is an Iraqi Shia militia that falls under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a coalition of state-sponsored militias that formed in 2014 to fight ISIS.
After President Biden bombed eastern Syria last week, the Pentagon said Kataib Hezbollah was one of the groups it targeted. The US framed the Syrian airstrikes as a “defensive” and “proportionate” response to rocket attacks on other US facilities in Iraq that happened in February, which Kataib Hezbollah denied any role in.
It’s not clear if Kataib Hezbollah was involved in last month’s attacks on US bases, but they certainly have a motive to fire on the US now. But just because US officials are blaming Kataib Hezbollah does not mean they’re responsible. Washington has a history of blaming the group for incidents without providing evidence to back up the claim.
As far as the “Iranian-backed” part, it’s true that Iran supports Kataib Hezbollah and many Iraqi Shia militias, but it’s not clear how much influence Tehran actually has on these groups. All signs indicate Iran is not looking to escalate tensions with Washington, as Tehran is seeking sanctions relief from the Biden administration.
A report from Middle East Eye following Biden’s Syria airstrike said Iran and its Iraqi allies were seeking a de-escalation but feared Kataib Hezbollah would respond anyway, a sign that the militia is not as controlled by Iran as the US claims.
The US is threatening military action over the Al Asad attack. On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said last week’s Syria airstrikes could be a “model” for a possible response.
Excellent analysis with the “Iran-backed” now gaining the shameful level of “WMDs” from past US attacks on Iraq. It’s fake news, from Washington phonies who favor increased instability, ‘cuz that’s where the money is.
“…Tehran is seeking sanctions relief from the Biden administration.”
Good luck with that!
I suspect the targeted militias will wait for the situation in Afghanistan to heat up when the US doesn’t withdraw, then they’ll start targeting US forces that haven’t withdrawn from Iraq.
They are not Iran backed they are an official part of the Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Force. They happen to be Shia, because 67% of Iraqis are Shia.
What’s in a name?
re: “Iranian-backed” militia” and “Kataib Hezbollah is an Iraqi Shia militia”
Iran-backed or Shia militia?
The SecDef says “Shia militants” and the Pentagon spox says “Iranian- backed militant groups” and “Shia-backed militias.”
“I’m confident in the target that we went after, we know what we hit,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters flying with him from California to Washington. Speaking shortly after the airstrikes, he added, “We’re confident that that target was being used by the same Shia militants that conducted the strikes,” referring to a Feb. 15 rocket attack in northern Iraq that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. service member and other coalition personnel.
. . .[Pentagon spokesman John] Kirby said the U.S. airstrikes “destroyed multiple facilities at a border control point used by a number of Iranian- backed militant groups,” including Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada. The U.S. has blamed Kataib Hezbollah for numerous attacks targeting U.S. personnel and interests in Iraq in the past. . .here and then Kirby in a presser: MR. KIRBY: I mean Shia-backed militias. . .here
Incidentally, the one man killed by Biden’s bombs was Sunni not Shia here and the US bombed Iraq not Syria here (h/t MOA).
Thanks for that information Don. I think the majority of the public, are under the impression that the PMF comprising various militias is some kind of terrorist organisation. They were actually setup, specifically to fight against Da’esh. There was of course co-ordination between the PMF and the IRGC to again, fight Da’esh. The PMF contain Shia, Sunni, Christian and Kurdish fighters.
“Iran-backed militia was responsible”
“they believe”
Ergo: I fall back on a Dutch saying: “believing one does in a church.”
What a confused situation. They have already retaliated killing 22 Syrian soldiers and yet no one know who attacked the base in Iraq.
It reminds me of Bush who invaded Iraq because a Saudi dissident in Afghanistan attached NYC.
“but they certainly have a motive to attack US forces” … sorry, poor writing. What is that motive you suggest ?
I suggest false flag perpetuated by the MIC. Motive ? Spread violence so the US money hemorrhage won’t end. Think it is difficult for Raytheon to hire some thugs to launch a dozen rockets into Iraq somewhere ? Think they give a s..t if people die ?
re: “Shia militants”
The US will never abandon its basic divide-and-conquer strategy used worldwide, and in the Middle East it is being applied in favor of the Sunnis (Turkey, Saudi Arabia) and against the Shi’ites (Iran).
In Iraq the strategy was first implemented with the 2006 bombing of Samarra’s al-Askari mosque and its gilded dome. This blatant attack on a Sunni mosque in a town completely controlled by the US military started the Shia-Sunni conflict, lengthening the US presence in Iraq until the present day as the US continues to battle the Shia influence in Iraq. The Sunni-Shia divide is nearly 1,400 years old. Iraq is the first major Arab country to be run by Shi’ites in more than eight centuries. It was the direct result of the US Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The US support for the Islamic state was first reported by the chief of Pentagon intelligence General Michael Flynn in 2012, when ISIS was found useful not only for divide-and-conquer in Iraq but also in Syria, an extension of US interest. This is the reason the establishment is against General Flynn. ISIS was primarily funded by Saudi Arabia, which is the reason for that dictatorship’s deep US support.