Iraq Strongly Condemns US Strike as Escalation: US Presence a Burden, Threat

“Mr. Abdul-Mahdi strongly objected and demanded the US call off the strikes off,” said his spokesman, Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf. “We consider it a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and a dangerous escalation that will threaten Iraq and the region,” Khalaf said.

Assaib Ahl al-Haq units in Iraq called for Americans to withdraw from Iraq. “The American military presence has become a burden for the Iraqi state and a source of threat against our forces,” it said in a statement.

“It is therefore imperative for all of us to do everything to expel them by all legitimate means.”

US forces launched an airstrike on a number of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) facilities in the western Anbar province on Sunday night, leaving dozens of martyrs, wounded.

Kata’ib Hezbollah spokesman, Sayyed Jaafar Al-Husseini, told Al-Manar TV that 24 martyrs and more than 50 were wounded in the US raids. Al-Husseini warned that the US aggression will be met with an appropriate response.