The Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades accused Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazemi of facilitating the assassination of the Quds Force commander, Qassem Soleimani, and the leader of the Iraqi popular crowd, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in a US air strike.
On January 3, the United States assassinated Soleimani, the engineer, and several of their companions, in an air strike near Baghdad airport, using a drone.
Hezbollah security official Abu Ali al-Askari said in a statement posted on Twitter that al-Kazimi, while he was head of the Iraqi General Intelligence Service, had facilitated the killing of Soleimani and the engineer.
"Our holiday in this passage of time will not be a holiday except by taking revenge - which is appropriate for the size and content of Soleimani, the engineer, and the martyrs of the city of Qaim - from their killers," Al-Askari added.
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- Abu Ali al-Askari (@abualialaskary) July 31, 2020
He said, "The local participants, from the treacherous Kazemi to the lowest ranks that contributed to facilitating these historical crimes, will not go unpunished, regardless of the price and the length of time."
Al-Askari had previously charged Al-Kazimi, when he was head of the Iraqi General Intelligence Service, with facilitating the assassination of Soleimani and the engineer.
At the time, Al-Askari considered that Al-Kazimi's candidacy for prime minister was a declaration of war against the people, and that he would burn the rest of the country's security.
On March 3, the Intelligence Service issued a statement denying Al-Kazemi's military accusations, saying that they are invalid and represent an explicit threat to civil peace, offend Al-Kazemi, and harm the reputation of the security services.
The statement indicated at the time that the functions of the agency are centered in the service of the country and the people, and are not subject to political temperaments.
Since the assassination of Soleimani and the engineer, Washington has accused Iraqi factions linked to Iran - most notably Hezbollah - of being behind attacks targeting its embassy and military bases in which its soldiers are deployed in Iraq.