On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the assassination of Iraqi security expert Hisham Al-Hashemi, and demanded that the perpetrators be held accountable, while the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades denied involvement in the operation, after accusations by activists and journalists of being behind it.
Pompeo said in a speech to him at his office in Washington that Al-Hashemi devoted his life to a free and independent Iraq and to achieving the aspirations of the Iraqi people, and he had received threats before his assassination from groups loyal to Iran.
Pompeo added that the United States is joining the rest of the world in condemning the assassination of Hashemi, calling on the government of Iraq to bring the guilty to justice quickly.
On Tuesday, the US State Department condemned the assassination of al-Hashemi, described the operation as a "heinous crime", and
made it clear - in a statement - that "reports show that militias backed by Iran praise his assassination, this is a bad behavior towards the values that the Iraqi people hold dear." Perpetrators of "brutal assassination" to justice.
The United Nations and Britain also condemned the assassination of Hashemi, and called on the Iraqi authorities to hold those responsible to account.
Denial
, for its part, the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades issued a statement denying its involvement in the assassination of Al-Hashemi, and said in a statement on its account in Telegram that "the series targeting the opponents of the American presence by throwing accusations has become clear in the approach of the media hostile to the Iraqi people, which directs the trumpets trumped to the Nile Honorable Iraqis by fabricating charges against them. "
And considered that "the speedy processing of accusations towards the parties opposing the occupation project in Iraq and the region, undoubtedly confirms that the killing and accusation instrument is the same" and warned in this regard that the Americans and the Zionists were involved in the horrific killing that occurred in the October demonstrations, noting that "The history of America and those who stand with it exposes the methods of treachery and criminality against humanity, and reveals the meanness and humiliation of their decision makers."
The movement continued in its statement, "As for the fighting Mujahideen, they possess the morals of the knights, the established principles, and the legal values, and the conspiracy of the assassin will not discourage them from performing their legitimate, moral and patriotic duty."
Violence resolved
For his part, the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada Al-Sadr, stressed the necessity of the assassination of Al-Hashemi not to go unpunished, and warned in a tweet through his account on Twitter from "dragging the country to resolving violence, because Iraq needs peace ... and you know that his assassination will not be a gag to the voices of truth."
pic.twitter.com/BxYXjc8cDH
- Muqtada al-Sayyid Muhammad al-Sadr (@Mu_AlSadr) July 7, 2020
The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, confirmed on Tuesday that Iraq "will not sleep" before the killers submit to the judiciary for the crimes they committed.
This comes at a time when Iraqis warned, via social media platforms, of the dangers of dealing with "non-state" and considering it a fait accompli that must be dealt with, and they criticized Al-Kazimi's government’s retreat in some crucial decisions related to security and law enforcement, in addition to its way of dealing with the explicit threats directed at it and attempts Silence freedom of opinion and expression of death and absence, and create chaos among society.
Tahrir Square: demonstrations against the assassination of the Iraqi expert and researcher Husham al-Hashmi. # Hisham_Shahid_Word # Hisham_Hashemi pic.twitter.com/8CdArTe8rl
- Mera J Bakr (@MeraJBakr) July 7, 2020
And Iraqis demanded their country's government to choose between the state and the state, and to take decisive decisions that restore the state's prestige and restore the citizen's confidence in the law and security and governmental institutions.
Unidentified gunmen were riding two motorcycles who assassinated Al-Hashemi, 47, Monday evening in front of his house in eastern Baghdad, in an attack that sparked anger and condemnation in Iraq and abroad. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the assassination.
CCTV footage of assassination of Iraqi security analyst Husham Al-Hashimi in Baghdad. # Hisham_ Al-Hashemi pic.twitter.com/UTaSVDfAVN
- Abdullah Dhiaa Al-deen (@abdullaliii) July 6, 2020
Al-Hashemi is an expert on armed groups, and has authored several books including "ISIS's World", "A Brief History of al-Qaeda in Iraq", and "ISIS from Within", along with more than 500 articles and research published in Iraqi, Arab and foreign newspapers and magazines.