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Iraq's Kata’ib Hezbollah holds drill in preparation for possible war with US


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Iraq's Kata’ib Hezbollah holds drill in preparation for possible war with US

Source : Press TV

The anti-terror Iraqi resistance group Kata’ib Hezbollah has held a military drill, dubbed ‘Hunting the Crow’, to prepare itself for battling occupying US troops after suspicious American activities recently. 

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The anti-terror Iraqi resistance group Kata’ib Hezbollah has held a military drill, dubbed ‘Hunting the Crow’, to prepare itself for battling occupying US troops after suspicious American activities recently. 

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Pentagon Order to Plan for Escalation in Iraq Meets Warning From Top Commander

A secret Pentagon directive orders planning to try to destroy a militia group backed by Iran, but America’s top general in Iraq cautions of the risks.

 
 
 
 

American military vehicles at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq in January. A new military campaign in Iraq could require thousands more troops. American military vehicles at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq in January. A new military campaign in Iraq could require thousands more troops.Credit...Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times

 

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has ordered military 

 

 

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has ordered military commanders to plan for an escalation of American combat in Iraq, issuing a directive last week to prepare a campaign to destroy an Iranian-backed militia group that has threatened more attacks against American troops.

But the United States’ top commander in Iraq has warned that such a campaign could be bloody and counterproductive and risks war with Iran. In a blunt memo last week, the commander, Lt. Gen. Robert P. White, wrote that a new military campaign would also require thousands more American troops be sent to Iraq and divert resources from what has been the primary American military mission there: training Iraqi troops to combat the Islamic State.

The Pentagon directive and General White’s response — both classified internal military communications — were described by several American officials with direct knowledge of their contents. The exchange comes amid a simmering fight inside the Trump administration over policy toward Iran and the course of America’s war in Iraq, which began just over 17 years ago.

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
As Iran reels over the coronavirus, top Trump administration aides are clashing over how to confront Iran and its Shiite military proxies in Iraq.
 

Some top officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Robert C. O’Brien, the national security adviser, have been pushing for aggressive new action against Iran and its proxy forces — and see an opportunity to try to destroy Iranian-backed militia groups in Iraq as leaders in Iran are distracted by the pandemic crisis in their

country.

 

http://c.newsnow.co.uk/A/1025562758?-1377:742:most_read_top

 

 

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Iraq’s post-pandemic future depends on breaking Iran’s hold

Iraq at "Decision Point"

There is something austere these days in the US approach to Iraq. The diplomatic pleasantries and talk of "strategic partnership" are crowded out by matter-of-fact demarches and warnings. And there’s no mystery why. Iran has made Iraq a battlefield. Iranian backed militias in Iraq have killed Americans, twice, in December and again this month. American forces have been injured by Iranian or Iranian proxy attacks. Also in December, Iran-backed militias organized crowds to attack the US Embassy in Baghdad, and Iraqi security forces were initially nowhere to be found.

“The Iraqi government is at a 

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US dangerous moves in Iraq, possibility of bloody coup

TEHRAN, Mar. 27 (MNA) – US President Donald Trump is making dangerous moves in Iraq while the world is fighting against coronavirus outbreak.

TEHRAN, Mar. 27 (MNA) – US President Donald Trump is making dangerous moves in Iraq while the world is fighting against coronavirus outbreak. 

The US is making dangerous moves in Iraq in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, as the Iraqi Kata'ib Hezbollah unveiled Washington’s dangerous plot in the country. The group threatened to target any Iraqi security apparatus involved in Washington’s conspiracy in Iraq.

The warning issued by Iraqi Hezbollah

Kata'ib Hezbollah released a statement noting that while the Iraqi nation and government are fighting against the spread of coronavirus, the US and its mercenaries are making suspicious moves to take advantage of the situation and achieve their goals.

The statement also says that US psychological media campaigns have intensified in recent days which indicates a US plot to conduct military aggression against some Iraqi security apparatus, Hashd al-Sha’abi, and Islamic Resistance. A number of Iraqi security and military organizations are also involved in this plot. This move will jeopardize Iraq's basic infrastructure and domestic peace.

According to this statement, this conspiracy has dangerous consequences amid the COVID-19 spread in Iraq and will lead to a humanitarian crisis. Kata'ib Hezbollah also announced that it will respond strongly to any foolish act from the US by destroying its military, security and economic facilities.

Kata'ib Hezbollah also warned any Iraqi side that their crime and betrayal will not be forgiven in case of participating in this conspiracy.

A member of the Iraqi Parliament Mohammad Albeldawi referred to this issue and maintained that based on evidence, the US seeks to orchestrate a coup in Iraq by activating ISIS in the Iraqi Governorates of Nineveh, Saladin, and Diyala.

According to the Iraqi MP, what is currently being reported in the media affiliated with the Arab States of the Persian Gulf is a beginning for the US Plot. Moreover, US efforts to pressure the Iraqi government to release ISIS prisoners with the excuse of coronavirus outbreak is considered another proof.

Meanwhile, a Kuwaiti newspaper quoted an informed source on Sunday saying that the US is planning a military coup in Iraq to seize power and it has informed its allies in Baghdad.

Alquds Alarabi Newspaper also quoted a special source and noted, “The upcoming attacks against US troops prompted them to withdraw from some of their bases and focus on special ones. These forces have not fully withdrawn and have left some military advisors behind.”

“There is no evidence that US troops are leaving Iraq because heavy equipment and weapons are brought daily into the country and we notice the presence of Special Forces. The US seeks to protect its forces by deploying the Patriot Missile Defense System. Currently, their focus is on Iraq and they intend to increase their troops in western Iraq, Kurdistan Region, and Baghdad.” The source added.

It is clear that Iraq will have a difficult time in the coming weeks and months, especially as the political situation is not stable in the country and Adnan al-Zurufi is facing numerous challenges to form his cabinet.

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US orders embassy personnel to leave Iraq

 
March 27, 2020 at 4:02 pm | Published in: Asia & Americas, Iraq, Middle East, News, US
Outraged Iraqi protesters storm the US Embassy in Baghdad, protesting Washington's attacks on armed battalions belong to Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi forces on December 31, 2019 [Murtadha Sudani/Anadolu Agency]
Outraged Iraqi protesters storm the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq on 31 December 2019 [Murtadha Sudani/Anadolu Agency]
 
March 27, 2020 at 4:02 pm
 
 

 

The State Department has ordered some US government employees at diplomatic facilities in Iraq to leave the country, the Embassy in Baghdad said on Thursday. The move came hours after two rockets hit the so-called Green Zone where most diplomatic buildings and compounds are located.

 

“Designated” employees were ordered to leave the US Embassy and the diplomatic support centre in the Iraqi capital, as well as the US Consulate General in the northern city of Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. The alert was sent to all US citizens in the country. Security concerns and restricted travel options resulting from the global coronavirus pandemic were cited as the reasons for the pullout.

 

 

 

A second message issued minutes later said that diplomatic officials were working to find options for US citizens to leave “on the next available commercial flight opportunity”. The plans may be hit by global travel disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

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"Mess with the best, die like the rest"

                                         Anonymous

 

Semper Fi:salute:

US Marine Corps - "Providing enemies of America an opportunity to die for their country since 1775."

                                                                                                                                                        Anonymous

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Official reveals 'indicators' that Iraq militia aims to hit US troops

kataieb

"There are warnings and indicators that the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah aspires to attack US forces in Iraq, a US defense official told The Washington Post.

“Kataib Hezbollah wants to pay back the Americans for the killing of Muhandis, absolutely,” said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

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Pentagon order to plan for escalation in Iraq meets warning from top commander

us-troops-iraq-ht-jef-200106_hpMain_16x9_992 The Pentagon has ordered military commanders to plan for an escalation of American combat in Iraq, issuing a directive last week to prepare a campaign to destroy an Iranian-backed militia group that has threatened more attacks against American troops.

But the United States’ top commander in Iraq has warned that such a campaign could be bloody and counterproductive and risks war with Iran. In a blunt memo last week, the commander, Lt. Gen. Robert P. White, wrote that a new military campaign would also require thousands more American troops be sent to Iraq and divert resources from what has been the primary American military mission there: training Iraqi troops to combat the Islamic State.

The Pentagon directive and General White’s response — both classified internal military communications — were described by several American officials with direct knowledge of their contents. The exchange comes amid a simmering fight inside the Trump administration over policy toward Iran and the course of America’s war in Iraq, which began just over 17 years ago.

Some top officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Robert C. O’Brien, the national security adviser, have been pushing for aggressive new action against Iran and its proxy forces — and see an opportunity to try to destroy Iranian-backed militia groups in Iraq as leaders in Iran are distracted by the pandemic crisis in their country.

Military leaders, including Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have been wary of a sharp military escalation, warning it could further destabilize the Middle East at a time when President Trump has said he hopes to reduce the number of American troops in the region.

Still, American officials said Mr. Esper authorized planning for a new campaign inside Iraq — even as the military reduces its counterterrorism presence there — to provide options for Mr. Trump in the event that Iranian-backed militia groups escalate their own attacks against American troops, said two senior administration officials.

During an Oval Office meeting on March 19, Mr. Trump did not make a decision about whether he might authorize the new campaign in Iraq, but allowed the planning to continue, according to American officials.

A spokesman for the National Security Council declined to comment. Cmdr. Sean Robertson, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement: “Operation Inherent Resolve is in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government and remains focused on partnering with Iraqi security forces for the shared goal of permanently defeating ISIS remnants. We are not going to discuss hypotheticals or internal deliberations.”

The debate is happening as top Pentagon officials and senior commanders worldwide are also expressing growing concerns about coronavirus cases expanding rapidly in the ranks, potentially threatening the military’s ability to field combat-ready troops.
Several American officials said they were struck by the blunt tone of General White’s memorandum — sent on March 16, the day after he received the Pentagon directive to start the planning — which they said emphasized the costs and risks against an effort to try to destroy the militia group, known as Kataib Hezbollah.

The memo also pointed out that such a campaign might run afoul of the current agreement with the Iraqi government that allows American troops to operate in the country.

Beyond that, it would most likely put the Iraqi leadership and especially its military in the position of having to choose between its American allies — whose leaders are far away — and the Iranians, whom many senior Iraqis do not like but believe they have to live with because they are neighbors.

“Iraq cannot be a victim of the Iranian-U.S. conflict, because that would end up going in favor of Iran,” said Karim al-Nuri, a senior figure in the Badr Organization, an Iranian-backed militia, meaning that it would forceIraq closer to Iran.

Iran has long used Shiite militia groups in Iraq as proxy forces both to battle American and Iraqi troops and to exert political influence inside the government. Like Lebanese Hezbollah, Kataib Hezbollah has both military components and political operations, and links to Iraq politicians, businesses, charities and a web of other networks, several regional specialists said.

“It’s like a shadow state,” said Michael Knights, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, who has studied the group for more than a decade.

As a result, carrying out any large-scale plan to destroy Kataib Hezbollah poses huge political and security risks for the Trump administration, and practical challenges for the military.

It would also strain already frayed relations with Iraq's weak central government. In January, members of Iraq’s Parliament called for the ouster of all U.S. troops in the country after the American drone strike at Baghdad’s international airport that killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, a top Iranian commander, as well as Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the de facto leader of Iraq’s militia groups.

Several top American officials, including Mr. Pompeo and General Milley, have urged the Iraqi security forces to crack down on rogue Shiite militia groups that are attacking American troops, or else the United States will be forced to retaliate.

The Pentagon directive ordered planners at the military’s Central Command and in Iraq to draw up a strategy to dismantle the militia group’s operations, according to several American officials who saw the order or were briefed on it. The directive said that Iranian paramilitary forces — members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps — could be legitimate targets if they are located with the Kataib Hezbollah fighters.

Kataib Hezbollah rocket attacks killed two Americantroops and one British soldier at a military base this month — prompting a reprisal strike by American warplanes one day later.

Even so, American officials said there was no firm evidence that Iran ordered the attack by the militia group. But Mr. Pompeo and other senior officials in recent weeks have argued for aggressive military action not only against Kataib Hezbollah but also against Iranian military forces.

During a White House meeting on March 12, Mr. Esper and General Milley argued for a more limited response to the rocket attacks — a view that prevailed on Mr. Trump, who ordered nighttime raids on five suspected weapons depots in Iraq used by Kataib Hezbollah.

Several American officials said there was an increased urgency in planning attack options against Kataib Hezbollah as the group, perhaps along with other Shiite militias, has threatened to ramp up strikes against U.S.troops stationed on Iraqi bases after the celebrations for Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, end soon. American military intelligence agencies have detected signs that big attacks could be in the works, according to a senior U.S. military official who has been briefed on some of the contingency planning in Iraq.

Kataib Hezbollah, in a statement on Wednesday, warned its fighters to prepare for possible attacks from the United States, and threatened to retaliate against Americans and any Iraqis who help them. “We will respond with full force to all their military, security, and economic facilities,” said the statement, according to SITE, a private company that monitors jihadists’ websites and postings.

The immediate targets of a Pentagon campaign against Kataib Hezbollah most likely would be the group’s leadership, bases and weapons depots, Mr. Knights said. In addition to a vast array of rockets, the group is believed to have access to a hidden arsenal of short-range ballistic missiles funneled into Iraq by Iran over the past several months, according to American intelligence and military officials.

An extended campaign could hit militia targets across a wide swath of Iraq and Syria, and possibly other Shiite militias in Iraq that are loosely aligned with Kataib Hezbollah. “You can’t just hit rank-and-file fighters, you’d have to hit leadership, most of whom have probably dispersed,” Mr. Knights said.

At the same time, American officials said the risks laid out in General White’s memo are genuine, and some military planners believe it would be foolish for the Trump administration to escalate military operations inside Iraq anytime soon.

More than 5,000 American troops are currently stationed in Iraq, most of them part of the mission to train and advise Iraqi security forces in the mission against the Islamic State. Pentagon officials had been seeking to reduce that presence to about 2,500 troops in the coming months.

Any campaign against Kataib Hezbollah is likely to draw from the roughly 70,000 American military personnel currently deployed around the Middle East, including in Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf nations. More than 14,000 of those troops have moved into the region since last May amid rising tensions with Iran.

The Pentagon has also sent Patriot air and missile defense batteries, B-52 bombers, a carrier strike group, armed Reaper drones and other engineering and support personnel.

Commanders are still rushing more Patriot antimissile batteries and other weaponry into Iraq, but are still a week or two away from having the additional defensive systems in place there, a senior U.S. military official said.

In recent weeks, as the threat from militia attacks and exposure to the coronavirus has increased, the United States and its European allies have been turning over smaller coalition bases to their Iraqi counterparts, and either moving to a handful of larger Iraqi bases or leaving the country altogether.

Speaking to reporters the day after the United States hit the five Khatib Hezbollah weapons depots this month, Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the head of Central Command, said that the threat from Iran and its proxies remained “very high” and added that tensions “have actually not gone down” since the United States killed General Suleimani.

While American officials say they have no clear evidence that Iran specifically directed the deadly attack on Camp Taji on March 11, they say that Kataib Hezbollah and the Iranian Quds Force coordinate closely.

General McKenzie said the United States was poised to strike additional militia weapons storage sites and other targets should attacks against American forces continue. He blamed Kataib Hezbollah for about a dozen rocket attacks against American troops based in Iraq in the past six months.

 

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10 minutes ago, Pitcher said:

It appears the Trump Administration has had enough of the rocket attacks of our troops in Iraq.  Hezbollah militia have no business being in Iraq.  Go in peace or face annihilation.  

“God will judge our enemies...we’ll arrange the meeting”!!!👍🇺🇸

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Iranian-backed militias increase attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq

Iranian-backed militias are more frequently and boldly attacking U.S. personnel in Iraq, and for the first time some of the strikes are taking place in broad daylight, The Washington Post reports.

The big picture: "The question of how to deter further militia strikes without putting troops at greater risk highlights how much American security and influence have evaporated in Iraq," Louisa Lovelock and Missy Ryan write.

  • The Trump administration is trying to develop a game plan to counter these attacks without "sparking costly retaliation."

The state of play: More than 5,000 U.S. troops currently are stationed in Iraq. The U.S. requested that Iraqi authorities find and prosecute those responsible for the attack, but the Iraqis have had little success so far.

The Pentagon issued a directive last week for military commanders to prepare a campaign to destroy an Iranian-backed militia group that's threatened more attacks against U.S. troops, The New York Times reports.

  • Yes, but: Lt. Gen. Robert P. White wrote a memo last week that a new military campaign would require thousands more U.S. troops in Iraq and would divert from current efforts to train the Iraqi military to fight the Islamic State.

Go deeper: Iran's proxies in the Middle East

 

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If you kick a dog everyday, eventually your going to get bit. Well these low lifes just keep kicking. Enough is enough its time to light them up, and show them were not leaving they are. Either by there own feet or body bag or in little bitty pieces. They have been pushing innocent people around bulling them killing and raping long enough. Its time they get what they deserve,  and who better then the A-team to show them. (I Say Get Some)

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On 3/28/2020 at 9:23 AM, Hotcurl said:

"Mess with the best, die like the rest"

                                         Anonymous

 

Semper Fi:salute:

US Marine Corps - "Providing enemies of America an opportunity to die for their country since 1775."

                                                                                                                                                        Anonymous

Well said !!

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US deploys extra Patriot missiles to Iraq amid troop drawdown

patriot_missile_norway_afp.jpg?itok=g7DA

The United States has deployed Patriot air defence systems to an Iraqi military base as a precaution against Iranian-backed militia attacks, US and Iraqi military sources have said. 

One of the Patriot batteries was deployed to the Ain al-Asad base last week and was being assembled, according to a US defence official and an Iraqi military source, AFP reported. 

The base was targeted by Iran in January, following a US strike that killed top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani

The US is planning to send another two Patriot batteries to Iraq, although the systems are still in Kuwait awaiting deployment, a US official said.

000_1pz24p.jpg?itok=PFMGRY_P
Iranian press review: US accused of reinforcing military presence in Iraq
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Another battery was deployed to a base in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), an autonomous region in Iraq.

The Patriot systems are composed of high-performance radars and interceptor missiles that can track and destroy incoming ballistic missiles while they are still in the air.

Washington and Baghdad have been negotiating the placement of the defence system for months, as tensions between the US and Iran show no signs of cooling off. But it was not immediately clear whether the US had ultimately received the Iraqi government's approval.

Most of the violence that has taken place between the US and Iran has taken place on Iraqi soil. 

Following the US's deadly January strike against Soleimani, the Iraqi parliament called for the US to withdraw all of its forces, a request the US government has largely ignored.

Iraq, which considers both countries its allies, had resisted the deployment of the extra Patriot missiles because it feared Iran would see it as a threat and further ramp up tensions. 

Top Iraqi officials who met US Central Command chief General Kenneth McKenzie in February suggested Washington could grant Baghdad some political "cover" by reducing its troop presence in Iraq as it deployed the missiles. And in recent weeks the US-led coalition has significantly drawn down troop levels in Iraq.

'Fewer bases and with fewer people'

On Monday, the alliance pulled out of a military base in the northern city of Mosul, the fourth location it has withdrawn from this month. 

US coalition officials have said the ultimate aim is to continue the US's support for Iraqi forces battling extremist groups like the Islamic State (IS) group, but "from fewer bases and with fewer people".

The alliance is also temporarily withdrawing hundreds of trainers, as Iraq's military has halted all training since early March to minimise the risk of the novel coronaviruspandemic spreading among its forces. 

"The US objective for the Patriots is to protect its troops that are now at a smaller number of bases," a western diplomat in Baghdad told AFP.

french_soldier_iraq_afp.jpg?itok=2HhWyob
France withdrawing its forces from Iraq: Report
Read More »

On Monday, Iraq's caretaker prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi warned against any "offensive military action without the approval of the Iraqi government", but did not specifically mention the Patriots. 

The statement from his office also objected to what it described as "unlicensed planes" in various parts of Iraq.

The US-led coalition is required to get approval from the Iraqi government to fly any surveillance drones and planes, but those permissions expired in early January and have yet to be renewed. 

The US had kept the drones in the air anyway, a senior American defence official told reporters, after months of rocket attacks on Iraqi bases hosting foreign troops.

Washington has blamed the attacks on Iran-aligned elements of the Hashed al-Shaabi, a militia network formally integrated into Iraq's security forces. 

On Wednesday, the Iraqi government said France, a member of the US-coalition, had begun withdrawing its troops from Iraq after coming to an agreement with the Iraqi government. 

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