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On January 3, 2023, Telegram channels linked to Iran-backed militias in Iraq highlighted statements made by militias' commanders to mark the third anniversary of deaths of IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani and Deputy Commander of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis. Both were killed in a U.S. airstrike, ordered by President Donald Trump, near Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020.
Asa'ib Ahl Al-Haq
Attending a commemoration ceremony held near the airport, Qais Al-Khazali, the Secretary General of Asa'ib Ahl Al-Haq militia, gave a speech in which he stressed that time has come to reveal all the details of the assassination, vowing that Donald Trump "will pay the price."
Reiterating his earlier claims that the former Iraqi PM Mustafa Al-Kadhimi was involved in the execution the assassination, Al-Khazali emphasized "that all of those who violated the international law, the Iraqi laws, and the laws of heaven, shall pay the price."
"We direct our speech to the world, yes, yes, Haj Qassem, yes, yes, Abu Mahdi, no, no, America, no, no, Israel... We promise we will avenge the leaders of victory and our martyrs, and we will never hesitate to tell the truth. Time has come for all the threads of the crime of their assassination to unfold."[1]
Kata'ib Hezbollah
Commander of Kata'ib Hezbollah in Iraq (KH), Abu Fadak, also known as Abdul Aziz Al-Muhammadawi, reiterated the same sentiment in his speech, emphasizing that the "revenge for the blood of Haj Qassem and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis is in our blood, and Trump and the Zionists will not escape, and we follow them everywhere."[2]
Al-Nujaba Movement
On the same occasion, Al-Nujaba Movement, headed by Akram Al-Khaabi, issued a statement describing the day of the assassination as "the U.S. betrayal coward day," adding that the desire to avenge Soleimani and Al-Muhandis will not fade away until the U.S. presence in Iraq and West Asia has come to an end.
"We shall not calm down and the banners of revenge will always be rising until we put an end to their [i.e., American] presence in Iraq and all of West Asia."[3]
[1] Telegram, January 3, 2022.
[2] Telegram, January 3, 2022.
[3] Telegram, January 3, 2022.
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