Major Shia militia rejects US military intervention in Iraq

The Shia militia of Liwa Abu Al-Fadl Al-Abbas, formed during the conflict in Syria, has reportedly announced its rejection of US military intervention to fight the Islamic State in Iraq, arguing that the US is using this as a pretext to reoccupy Iraq.

A spokesperson for the Abbas Brigade, Abu Muhammad Al-Basri, told Anadolu news agency that: “The Islamic State is a creation of the US and carries its agenda in the region, especially in Iraq, in order to protect Israel from the Islamic resistance forces in the region.”

Al-Basri further explained that the “US is using the Islamic State as a pretext to justify reoccupying Iraq, while working at the same time to divide Iraq and Syria under the pretext of fighting the radical organisations there.”

The spokesperson suggested the US air force would not differentiate between Islamic State sites and “the Iraqi resistance forces”, including the Abbas Brigade, warning the Iraqi government against cooperation with foreign forces that do not want the best for Iraqis.

He said: “If the American forces were sincere about helping Iraq, they would have committed to their pledge of arming Iraqi forces to counter the Islamic State. The US intended to weaken Iraq by not arming it in order to intervene itself.”

The Abbas Brigade was a mainly Shia Syrian militant group that operated throughout Syria to protect religious sites against Al-Qaeda linked groups, before moving to Iraq after the Islamic State occupied the city of Mosul in the north. The group has since been fighting alongside the Iraqi forces in a number of areas in Iraq.

Earlier, the Shia militias Sayyed Al-Shuhada and the League of the Righteous announced in separate statements their rejection of any American presence on Iraqi territory under the pretext of fighting the Islamic State.

The US has formed an international alliance to confront the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, a move that was welcomed by the Iraqi government.

Turmoil continues to prevail in the north and west of Iraq after the Islamic State and Sunni insurgents allied with it seized control of large areas there.