By Jerald Jimenez
04 Feb 2024, 15:02 PM EST
The Popular Mobilization Units, an alliance of former paramilitaries supported by Iran, through their leader, Faleh Al Fayyad, demanded that the Prime Minister of Iraq do everything possible to expel US troops from that country, through the “ defense of the sovereignty and dignity of Iraq” after denouncing that the US allegedly attacked administrative premises and a hospital.
Al Fayyad called the incident a “brazen attack” and stated that the blood of the UMP, which was part of the Iraqi Armed Forces, “represents the dignity of Iraq” and that they would not tolerate it being “cheap political material.”
He further stated that these militias were “the pride of Iraqis” and that they had played a key role in the fight against the Islamic State.
The US strikes occurred on Friday and targeted more than 85 facilities and targets linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in eastern Syria and western Iraq.
According to local sources, the attacks caused the death of 45 people, including civilians. Meanwhile, the United States claimed it was retaliation against pro-Iran militias who killed three of its soldiers last week in Jordan.
The UMP was founded in 2014 following a religious edict to confront the threat of the Islamic State in Iraq. In 2016, they joined the Iraqi Armed Forces and have since received political, financial and military support from Iran.
The majority of its members are Shiites and have great weight in the Iraqi Parliament. Currently, there are about 2,500 U.S. and 900 international coalition troops deployed to Iraq and Syria to combat the Islamic State.
With information from DW / EFE
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