Iraqi leaders condemn rocket attack on base housing US troops near Baghdad
Iraqi leaders have condemned a Wednesday rocket attack that hit a military base housing American troop near the capital Baghdad.
Iraqi President Barham Salih and caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi on Thursday decried the attack against Taji military camp, which killed three members of the US-led coalition, including two Americans and one Briton.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
In a statement, the Iraqi president described the strikes as an attack on Iraq and its security, stressing the need for thorough investigations to identify the perpetrators.
Abdul Mahdi also denounced the attack as “hostile and unacceptable,” according to a statement issued by the Iraqi Armed Forces.
He said the attack is a security challenge and a very serious hostile approach.
The prime minister, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, ordered the identification of the perpetrators of this dangerous and hostile act, the statement said.
It said that the Iraqi military would take serious measures against such attacks and would respond firmly.
Anti-American sentiment has been running high in Iraq following the assassination on January 3 of Iran’s top anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), along with their companions.
The crime promoted the Iraqi parliament to vote for the expulsion of US forces from the country. The government has not yet acted on the decision as it is grappling with a political deadlock.
Iran and Iraq’s PMU — better known as Hashd al-Sha’abi — vowed revenge, with Tehran targeting two US bases with missiles days later.
The PMU also said the reaction will be “no less than in size” than Tehran’s missile strikes on two American bases in Iraq.
It has, however, denied repeated US claims that it has been behind rocket attacks targeting US and other foreign missions and bases in Iraq.
Reacting to the Wednesday raid, Hashd al-Sha’abi commanders once again dismissed US claims that the Iraqi force was behind the raid, describing the allegations as wrong and provocative.
The PMU says if it decides to target the US interests in Iraq, it will announce it publicly.
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