Who are Iraq's Iranian backed militia group Kataib Hezbollah that attacked the US consulate?
Hashd al-Shaabi fighters carry coffins of members of Kataib Hezbollah militia group, who were killed by U.S. air strikes in Qaim district, during a funeral in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq December 31, 2019. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani
In Baghdad, the embassies are located in a heavily fortified area called the Green Zone, which is accessible to civilians only with a special permit. The militia-supporting crowd, however, managed to enter the area, with vehicle plates spotted being belonged to the government. The PMF played a critical role in the territorial defeat of Daesh, after it was founded as a response to the call by the highest Shia religious authority in Iraq, Ayatollah Sistani to pick up arms against the group.The Tehran government and Revolutionary Guardsin Baghdad for the past 10 years, since the US invasion toppled Saddam Hussein. Iraq's prime ministers have had close ties with Iran ever since. Hashd al Shaabi is only another sign of that influence.
In response, US airstrikes targeted Kataib Hezbollah locations in Iraq and Syria, killing 25 militiamen.
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