Suspend attacks.” First US Response to Iraqi ‘Kataib Hezbollah’ Statement

Free – Washington

January 30, 2024

The Pentagon downplayed the statement by Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah militia in which it announced the suspension of its attacks on U.S. forces.

“We take actions, not words,” ministry spokesman Pat Ryder said during a press briefing Tuesday, adding that “there is no point in escalating tension in the region but we will take all necessary measures to defend our interests and our forces.”

Iraq’s Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia said in a statement Tuesday that it was “suspending its military and security operations against U.S. forces.”

Kataib Hezbollah’s statement followed U.S. President Joe Biden’s announcement that he had made his decision on how to respond to the attack that killed U.S. soldiers at a military base in Jordan, Sunday.

Biden, in remarks to reporters, blamed Iran for supplying weapons to pro-it groups.

But he added that the U.S. does not want a broader war in the Middle East.

The Pentagon said Monday that the attack bears the fingerprints of the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades,” calling it a “escalation” after it killed 3 soldiers and injured dozens more.

In Iraq, state media reported that Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, in a phone call with his Jordanian counterpart, on Tuesday, condemned the attack that killed US soldiers in Jordan near the Syrian border.

The media added that Hussein and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi stressed the need to keep the two countries and the region away from military threats from any party.

https://www.alhurra.com/iraq/2024/01/30/تعليق-الهجمات-أول-رد-أميركي-بيان-كتائب-حزب-الله-العراقية