Taha Al-Ani-Al-Jazeera Net
The American strikes yesterday came on sites of the popular crowd west of Anbar (west of the country) amid a tense atmosphere in the Iraqi arena, especially the Iranian-American escalation between the two parties, and the heightened tone of the pro-Iranian armed factions in their anti-American statements in the country.
And the American strikes received wide condemnation from state institutions and from political figures and activists who considered it a clear breach of Iraqi sovereignty.
On Sunday, America carried out five strikes targeting the headquarters of the Iraqi Hezbollah, which is located under the popular crowd, near the district of al-Qa’im, west of Anbar and in the Syrian territories to the east. The death toll can be increased as a result of severe injuries.
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Political responses
The incident - which is the fiercest against the crowd factions in the context of the American-Iranian escalation inside Iraq - has received political reactions in the Iraqi square and even Iran, where statements, statements, and even tweets on Twitter continued, amid condemnations of this attack by political figures, government institutions, and parties affiliated with the crowd factions .
And the Prime Minister of the caretaker government (Adel Abdul Mahdi) expressed the government's rejection of what he described as "unilateral action" by the coalition forces inside the country, according to a statement.
The President of the Republic, Barham Salih, condemned the attack, considering it a violation of sovereignty and violating the agreements.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry commented this morning on the attack, describing it as a "terrorist".
He also denounced the coalition of Iraqi forces (representatives of the Sunni areas), stressing that this dangerous development offends the strong relationship between Baghdad and Washington and threatens common interests.
The American bombing of crowd sites is an unjustifiable crime ... whatever the motives ... and the State Department’s flags are summoning the American ambassador and taking the necessary .. and commitment to the agreements signed between the two countries .. as well as international treaties .. |
Parliament member Ahmed al-Jubouri considered the US bombing of the PMF sites an unjustifiable crime, whatever the motives.
He called on the State Department to call the American ambassador and take what is necessary, and to abide by the agreements signed between the two countries, as well as international treaties, and not to be drawn into a collision between the crowd and American forces.
We demand the cancellation of the agenda of its session on Monday and the transformation of the session to discuss the crime of American homicide planes and a decision to close the American embassy and cancel the strategic framework agreement and close all occupied bases and end the American occupation and its presence in Iraq # Mako - Representative Kazem Al-Sayyadi (@ nl1khoI8lWK2Aog) December 29, 2019 |
For his part, the parliamentarian, Kazem Al-Sayyadi, called for canceling the agenda of the scheduled Monday session and turning it into a discussion of the "American murder planes crime" and taking a decision to close the American embassy, canceling the strategic framework agreement, closing all "occupied" bases and ending the American occupation and its presence in the country.
Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, deputy head of the PMF, confirmed Sunday evening that their response to this bombing would be harsh.
"The blood of the martyrs and the wounded will not be in vain, and the response will be harsh for the American forces in Iraq," he said in a brief statement.
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A battlefield
Iraq is one of the most prominent regions that suffer from military and political tension, in light of the mutual escalation between America and Iran, due to the political and military influence that the two parties enjoy in this country that has a geographical location bordering Iran.
The recent American attack witnessed popular reactions, due to fears of Iraq being dragged into a downward spiral of conflict between the two parties, in light of the fragile security conditions and the political conflict that the country is witnessing today.
In this regard, the expert and researcher Fadel Abu Ragheef said: The Pentagon was accusing Iran of bombing its camps in Iraq, and if America is certain that Tehran was the one who carried out the strike, then why does it not respond to Iran with its lands?
He added: Iraq is not an arena for liquidations or a ground for conflict, and the popular crowd is part of the security system, and attacking it is an attack on Iraqi sovereignty.
Will the American military targeting of Hezbollah militia Iraq be the beginning of the political targeting of these militias to exclude them from the Iraqi political scene? Is it a message for the beginning of a new stage in the American dealings with these militias that operate outside the framework of the state and have become a threat to American interests? - Hatem Kareem Al-Falahi (@ hatemkareem17) December 29, 2019 |
Military expert Hatem Karim Al-Falahi asked about the new American policy against the Hashd factions after this attack: Will the American military targeting of Hezbollah militias be the beginning of the political targeting of these militias to exclude them from the political scene?
He added: Is it a message for the beginning of a new stage in the American dealings with these militias that operate outside the country and have become a threat to American interests?
On the other hand, the Palestinian writer, Yasser Al-Zaatara, saw that Washington's attack on the Iraqi Hezbollah, after missiles from the latter, on American bases, opens the door again to the question of mutual responses, and how far they will go.
He added that Iran's conviction that Trump does not want a war that encourages it to escalate, but the escalation against Washington remains an adventure. Against the neighborhood, like Aramco's strike, Trump will be happy.
Possible scenarios after targeting # Hezbollah sites in Iraq, an Iraqi government request to leave the American forces, a response from the popular crowd for American interests in # Iraq, an Iranian direct response to the interests of Washington inside or outside Iraq, affecting one or more Gulf states, entering Israel # on a line confrontation. - Saif Salah Al-Haiti (@saifsalahalhety) December 30, 2019 |
Journalist Saif Salah Al-Hiti wrote about some of the possible scenarios: an Iraqi government request to leave the American forces, a response from the popular crowd against American interests in Iraq, a direct Iranian response to Washington’s interests inside or outside Iraq affecting one or more Gulf states, entering Israel on the frontline.
The American strike came two days after the killing of an American civilian contractor and the injury of others, including Iraqis, by a missile attack on an Iraqi military base near the city of Kirkuk (north of Baghdad) last Friday.
A senior US military official confirmed to Reuters this month that attacks by Iranian-backed groups on bases that include American forces in Iraq have become more and more sophisticated, pushing all sides towards an escalation out of control.
Everyone is watching the consequences of the American-Iranian escalation in Iraq, especially after the two mutual strikes between the American forces and the pro-Iranian factions, which resulted in casualties between the two parties. Amid popular and political fears of possible scenarios that could drag Iraq into a cycle of violence and turn it into an international conflict arena.