An armed Iraqi militia yesterday threatened to target US forces and their agents in the country, Anadolu news agency reported.
The Rab’Allah militia made the threat during a military parade with weapons in the streets of the capital, Baghdad.
“The Iraqi people are living in the darkness of the brutal American occupation and a complicit and puppet government,” the movement said in a statement, adding that its fighters have travelled across the capital “in a threatening message to the Americans and their agents”.
The movement published photos of its fighters riding in pickups and carrying machine guns and RPGs in Baghdad.
A police source, who asked not to be named, told Anadolu that the security authorities closed a vital bridge in central Baghdad during the group’s parade.
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He explained that authorities closed the two-storey bridge which links the capital to the heavily fortified Green Zone, which includes the headquarters of the government, parliament and foreign missions including the US embassy.
Observers believe these unknown groups are merely a front for Iran-backed armed factions.
There was no comment from the Iraqi government on the parade or the threats contained in the group’s statement.