Kataeb Hezbollah vows to keep arms, as Iraq faces US pressure

Kataeb Hezbollah vows to keep arms, as Iraq faces US pressure The influential Iraqi armed group Kataeb Hezbollah has pledged to keep up its armed activities, as Baghdad faces mounting US pressure to disarm factions supported by Iran. Since the US-Israeli war on Iran was launched at the end of February, groups operating under the banner of the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" have carried out repeated drone and rocket attacks on US interests in Iraq. Washington has bombed facilities and bases belonging to the groups, including Kataeb Hezbollah, killing dozens of their members. Since taking office in mid-May, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has pledged to restrict weapons to the hands of the Iraqi state. But on Saturday, Kataeb Hezbollah security chief Abu Mujahid al-Assaf said that the group's armed activities were "a collective duty, and we will carry it out on behalf of the brothers who have decided to abandon it". While some factions have shown willingness to operate under state institutions, others, like Kataeb Hezbollah, refuse to discuss disarmament under US pressure. Assaf suggested that Kataeb Hezbollah was willing to work with those other groups, and was "also prepared to pay for" weapons they no longer needed. He said his group was ready "to cooperate and play a constructive role" by supervising the transfer and storage of weapons, and receiving specialised weapons such as cruise missiles, for which "there are no experts within state agencies". Kataeb Hezbollah insists it will not discuss its weapons so long as foreign forces remain deployed in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region. Reporting by AFP

The influential Iraqi armed group Kataeb Hezbollah has pledged to keep up its armed activities, as Baghdad faces mounting US pressure to disarm factions supported by Iran.

Since the US-Israeli war on Iran was launched at the end of February, groups operating under the banner of the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" have carried out repeated drone and rocket attacks on US interests in Iraq.

Washington has bombed facilities and bases belonging to the groups, including Kataeb Hezbollah, killing dozens of their members.

Since taking office in mid-May, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has pledged to restrict weapons to the hands of the Iraqi state.

But on Saturday, Kataeb Hezbollah security chief Abu Mujahid al-Assaf said that the group's armed activities were "a collective duty, and we will carry it out on behalf of the brothers who have decided to abandon it".

While some factions have shown willingness to operate under state institutions, others, like Kataeb Hezbollah, refuse to discuss disarmament under US pressure.

Assaf suggested that Kataeb Hezbollah was willing to work with those other groups, and was "also prepared to pay for" weapons they no longer needed.

He said his group was ready "to cooperate and play a constructive role" by supervising the transfer and storage of weapons, and receiving specialised weapons such as cruise missiles, for which "there are no experts within state agencies".

Kataeb Hezbollah insists it will not discuss its weapons so long as foreign forces remain deployed in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region.