BAGHDAD -- As Iraq held joint funeral services on Saturday for two revered military leaders killed in an American drone strike near the Baghdad airport this past week, tens of thousands of pro-Iranian fighters marched through Baghdad, waving flags and chanting that "revenge is coming" to the
BAGHDAD — As Iraq held joint funeral services on Saturday for two revered military leaders killed in an American drone strike near the Baghdad airport this past week, tens of thousands of pro-Iranian fighters marched through Baghdad, waving flags and chanting that “revenge is coming” to the United States.
The extent of that network added to the uncertainty about how Iran might respond to his killing. If it chose to, Tehran could do so by relying on allied forces in any of those places to target American troops, or allies such as Israel, Saudi Arabia or other countries in the Persian Gulf. Story continues“I may be in the minority here, but I think with this new development, despite Iran’s outlandish statements, ultimately Iran has been pushed into a corner,” she added.
The loss of al-Muhandis was a profound one for the Iraqi fighters, who saw him not just as a militia leader close to Iran but also as someone who had helped rally the armed groups when they first formed in 2014 to fight the Islamic State group as it threatened to sweep toward Baghdad, the Iraqi capital.
In recent months, Iran and its allies have struck oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and targeted tanker traffic in some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf. A senior commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard raised the prospect of possible attacks on ships in the Gulf, saying that Iran would retaliate against Americans wherever they were within reach of the Islamic Republic.
Another warning was issued by Abu Ali al-Husseini, special operations chief of Khataib Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia whose bases in Iraq and Syria the United States bombed a week ago. He said the Iraqi military should stay at least a half-mile away “from the American enemy bases” starting on Sunday evening. Any Iraqi military personnel who stayed with the Americans, he suggested, were acting as “human shields.
Amid the tensions, the United States has called on its citizens to leave Iraq, shuttered its embassy in Baghdad, sent additional Marines and on Thursday deployed 700 members of the 82nd Airborne Division to the region. American contractors who train Iraqi troops have begun returning home. “China urges the United States not to recklessly misuse armed force and to seek solutions to problems through dialogue,” Wang said, according to a summary of the call issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Abdul Mahdi looked upset as he walked surrounded by security officers in a sea of militia fighters. As Iraq’s leader, he has been caught between Iran, its neighbor, and the United States as the two have ratcheted up their confrontations.
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