Monday, October 05, 2020

U.S. Embassy Closure a Plot to Tarnish Hashd al-Sha’abi: MP

BAGHDAD (FNA) –The threat by Washington to close its embassy in Baghdad is a plot to tarnish the image of Hashd al-Sha’abi popular forces and blame them for insecurities in Iraq, a senior Iraqi lawmaker says.

"Washington’s threats of closing its embassy in Baghdad is aimed at provoking the public opinion about the suspicious insecurities in the country and pave the ground for targeting Hashd al-Sha’abi within the framework of the U.S. new scenario,” Mahdi Amarli told the Arabic-language Baghdad al-Youm news website on Sunday.
He dismissed any involvement of Hash al-Sha’abi in violation of security of diplomatic places, saying, "Actually, if they were after a war, they would’ve declared it officially.”
His remarks came days after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened to close the American Embassy in Baghdad within weeks if Iraqi leaders fail to prevent firing rockets at the compound. He tried to accuse Hashd al-Sha’abi for the attacks.
In one of the latest incidents, five civilians, including two women and three children, were killed in a rocket attack near Baghdad airport last Monday, the Iraqi Defense Ministry said.
The ministry’s Joint Operations Command said in a statement that two Katyusha rockets landed on a house in the Radwaniyah area.
Two other children were injured in the attack, the ministry said, adding that the rockets were launched from Jihad neighborhood in Baghdad.
Hashd al-Sha’abi officials have blamed the U.S. for the recent rocket attacks in Baghdad.
Earlier this week, Kataeb Hezbollah group, affiliated to Hashd al-Sha’abi, blamed U.S. spy agency, CIA, for the Monday rocket attack on residential areas in Baghdad.
"The CIA’s footsteps are seen in the criminal operations in al-Radwaniyah and scientific evidence and the evidence confirms it,” Kataeb Hezbollah said.
It called for the formation of a joint committee by Hashd al-Sha’abi and the Iraqi interior ministry to investigate the attack.

No comments:

Post a Comment