Baghdad: Iran-linked militia threatens violence after the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq

BAGHDAD, September 30 /ATSH-DPA/ — The Iran-linked Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah has threatened a return to violence in Iraq, at a time when the U.S. military has completed its withdrawal from the country.

In a statement, the group warned it would seek to topple the government of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ‘by any means’ if it takes steps that, according to the militia, run counter to ‘the interests of the people’.

Kataib Hezbollah also threatened to fire on ‘hostile aircraft’ entering Iraqi airspace.

The withdrawal of U.S. troops, completed on Wednesday, has heightened concerns about a deterioration of the security situation in Iraq. The militias were initially expected to disarm in parallel with the departure of U.S. forces, but the process has been postponed until June next year.

Some of these paramilitary groups have already been incorporated into Iraq’s security structures and are funded by the state, but they continue to keep their own weapons and commanders.

Their position within state structures, together with Tehran’s influence, has at times enabled them to act outside the direct control of the Iraqi government.

Some of the militias are part of Iran’s so-called ‘Axis of Resistance’, a network of armed groups through which Tehran aims to counter American and Israeli influence in the region.