Iraqi Parliament holds session to condemn US airstrike on Kataib Hezbollah

Shafaq News/ The Iraqi Parliament convened on Saturday to denounce the recent US airstrike targeting a leader of Kataib Hezbollah in Baghdad.

Shafaq News correspondent reported that the session included "a funeral council for the victims of the US bombardment," with parliamentarians expressing solidarity with the government's efforts to end the American presence in Iraq.

Our correspondent said that Acting Speaker Mohsen Al-Mandalawi opened the consultative meeting, which the Council has the right to hold without requiring a quorum, per parliamentary regulations.

Meanwhile, MP Muhammad al-Baldawi, a leader in the Shiite Coordination Framework, stated to our Agency that today's session is a "demonstration of support for the government's measures and steps to expel American forces from Iraqi soil, aiming to establish a swift timetable for their withdrawal."

He emphasized that the Prime Minister, Mohamad Shia Al-Sudani, as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, has made it clear that the government is earnestly working to end the American presence in Iraq, asserting that the continued US presence "poses a threat to Iraq's security and stability, as well as the broader region."

Since October 2023, when the Israeli aggression on Gaza started, the US forces have been attacked at least 60 times in Iraq by pro-Iranian groups known as Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI).

IRI stated that its operations are to "expel the American occupation" and in support of "Palestinian brothers."

In retaliation, the US military launched airstrikes on sites related to Iranian-backed forces in Iraq; the latest two targeting were on locations for the Popular Mobilization Forces, killing 16 members of the PMF's Al-Tofuf Brigade, and on a vehicle in Baghdad killing the leader in Kataeb Hezbollah, Abu Baqir Al-Saadi.

The Iraqi authorities strongly denounced the US attacks, deeming them "a clear violation of Iraqi sovereignty."

In January 2020, the Iraqi Parliament passed a non-binding resolution calling for the government to end the presence of all foreign troops.

Currently, there are 2500 US troops in Iraq for advisory and training missions upon the demand of the Iraqi government.