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Shia militia group threatens to topple any Iraqi gov. hostile to Iran in ‘weeks’

Shia militia group threatens to topple any Iraqi gov hostile to Iran in weeks
Shia militia group threatens to topple any Iraqi gov. hostile to Iran in ‘weeks’

2019-08-06 00:00:00 - Source: kurdistan 24

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An Iraqi Shia militia group on Monday said they would overthrow any government in Baghdad that opposes Iran “in some few weeks.”

The statement came from Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba’s Nasr al-Shammari during a meeting with former secretary of the Iranian National Security Council Saeed Jalili, according to the Iranian ABNA agency. Shammari is in Iran on a visit.

“[The] Americans know that if any Iraqi government takes a step against Iran, it will be toppled in some few ?weeks,” the official said, emphasizing, according to the Iranian outlet, the close relations between Iran and Iraq.

Akram al-Kaabi first formed Nujaba in 2013 with active support from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Kaabi sought to support the Bashar al-Assad-led Syrian regime in the country’s civil war. He was also the co-founder of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, another Iraqi Shia militia organization.

Both became part of Iraq’s security apparatus under the Hashd al-Shaabi conglomerate when the so-called Islamic State overran the country in 2014. In May, Nujaba fighters were also reportedly in the Iranian Kurdish city of Oshinaveh (Shno), killing two unarmed Kurds by firing at a moving vehicle.

Also in May, the United States sanctioned Nujaba – which reportedly has about 10,000 fighters – and its leader as terrorist entities. Washington also considers Asaib Ahl al-Haq, which is still a close ally of Nujaba and is backed by Iran, a terrorist organization.

Read More: US sanctions pro-Iran militia in Iraq as terrorist group

The Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), “is now the enemy of the US,” Shammari said. He described the US Embassy in Iraq as a “Den of Espionage,” claiming it recruits media activists to fight Shia Islamic values.

“In response,” he stated, “Nujaba has also trained a group ?of media activists to foil the soft warfare and negative propaganda of the enemy.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany





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