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Iraq: militia leader rejects assassination allegations

November 29, 2021 at 10:58 am

Qais Al-Khazali leader of the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq in Baghdad, Iraq on 7 May 2018 [AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images]

The Secretary-General of Iraq’s Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq movement, Qais Khazali, warned on Sunday of “attempts” to accuse what he called “resistance factions” of trying to assassinate Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi. According to Khazali, such allegations are likely to drag the country into a major crisis.

In a televised address, he called on Iraq’s Supreme Shia cleric, Ali Al-Sistani, to intervene as the situation “has reached dangerous levels” in the country.

“The targeting of the prime minister’s house [on 7 November], if true, is serious and cannot be tolerated at all,” said Khazali, adding that Al-Kadhimi refused the participation of two “resistance factions” — militias — in the investigation into the attempted assassination. “We send a message to the committee charged with the investigation… You must provide concrete evidence and real proof, not allegations.”

Shia leader Muqtada Al-Sadr called on Friday for the results of the investigations to be revealed.

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