Iran's Shiite Axis
We expressed our deep concern at the rise in the number and sophistication of attacks against diplomatic premises in Iraq, including rocket and [improvised explosive device] attacks.""We noted that these attacks endanger not only foreign embassies but also Iraqis, as evidenced by the tragic death of a family near Baghdad international Airport following a rocket strike on Monday."International envoys in Iraq"The big challenge is still Iranian interference. They're really testing the current government and prime minister, to be exact. He's really tried to stand firm and be strong, but he's between a rock and a hard place.""But let's be frank, it's not just about [ISIL]. It's about Iranian expansion into Iraq. It's about Iranian expansion into other parts of the Middle East.""At the end of t he day, like it or not, even though we've tried to position ourselves as being different from the Americans, we are seen as the same. So we are vulnerable."Bessma Momani, Middle East expert, University of Waterloo, Ontario
 |
| The US Embassy compound is pictured in Baghdad's Green Zone on May 20, 2019, in the Iraqi capital. A Katyusha rocket crashed the previous day into Baghdad's Green Zone, which houses government offices and embassies including the US mission, Iraqi security services said in a statement. Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images. |
The six-year-old war against the Islamic State group that brought Western troops under the umbrella of the United Nations, and led by the United States, still struggles to control the remnants of the Islamic State that continues its violent predation within Syria and Iraq, and still threatens Western nations by the force of its persuasive jihad impact on impressionable Islamist recruits living in Europe and North America. Iran's undeniable influence in Iraq, both Shiite-led nations, has created a diplomatic fissure between Iraq and the United States.
The result of which has been escalating tensions between Iraq and the United States, a fallout of the political challenges between Washington and Tehran. A series of rocket attacks launched by Iranian-backed militias targeting U.S. diplomatic and military facilities has created an untenable situation, with the U.S. warning it is prepared to pull its troops out of Iraq and to shut down its huge embassy complex. An attack on Wednesday hit a base in the Kurdistan region, home to American troops, along with a number of Canadian special forces soldiers.
Initially, the U.S. had reported rockets fired at the coalition base next to the main airport in Irbil failed to reach the facility, but that was contradicted by later reports suggesting that several had landed within the compound, though no Canadian Armed Forces personnel were injured. "The recent attack on a military base in Irbil did not affect coalition forces", reported Jessica Lamirande, spokeswoman for the Canadian Defence Department. "All CAF members are safe and accounted for and we continue to monitor the situation closely with our allies and partners in the region."
The Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group comprised mostly of Iran-backed Shiite militias, part of Iraq's security forces, were identified by Kurdish authorities as being responsible for the attacks. Responding to that accusation the Popular Mobilization Forces stated it would be investigating the incident that just happened to coincide with Canada's ambassador to Iraq along with counterparts from over a dozen other nations meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi over concerns relating to a number of other attacks on diplomatic missions in the country. Attributed to Iran-loyal militias.
 |
| A member of an Iraqi Shiite paramilitary group helps a fellow protester holding a placard denouncing the United States climb on the outer wall of the US Embassy in the Green Zone during a demonstration, Baghdad, Iraq, Dec. 31, 2019. Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images. |
These are the militias that were formed in 2014 in the general push to stop the caliphate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant from any further expansion into Syria and Iraq. Al-Kadhimi had condemned the attacks, insisting they threatened Iraq's stability, promising to hold the perpetrators to account. International observers question how much power is left to the government of Iraq to crack down on the militias in light of Iran's total influence in the country given its links to the paramilitary groups as well as members of the Iraqi government.
Labels: Canada, Iran, Iraq, ISIL, Military Attacks, Mission, Shiite Militias, United States
posted by Pieface @ Saturday, October 03, 2020
<< Home