The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
Commenting on Iran's January 8, 2020 rocket attack on the U.S. bases in Iraq in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and PMF deputy-commander Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, the heads of Shi'ite militias in Iraq thanked Iran for helping to restore Iraq's sovereignty and threatened that their own response will be even harsher.
The following are excerpts from some of their statements:
Image: Fars News (Iran), January 8, 2020
The secretary-general of the Asaib Ahl Al-Haqq Brigades, Qais Al-Khaz'ali, tweeted: "Iran's first response to the assassination of the martyred commander Soleimani has been carried out. Now it is time for the first Iraqi response to the assassination of the martyred commander Al-Muhandis. Since Iraqis possess courage and honor, their response will not fall short of the Iranian one, and that's a promise."[1]
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A statement by the Al-Nujaba movement thanked Iran for "helping Iraq to restore its sovereignty and its honor" by targeting "the bases of the evil occupying American forces on the stolen lands of our country, in revenge for [the killing of] our beloved guest, Hajj Qassem Soleimani." The statement warned the U.S. forces: "Do not close your eyes, for the revenge for the martyr Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis will surely come, at the hands of Iraqis, until the last of your soldiers leaves."[2]
Al-Nujaba Movement Secretary-General: The Marines Should Prepare Coffins Ahead Of Our Attack
Prior to the Iranian attack, the movement's secretary-general, Akram Al-Ka'bi, declared that the U.S. assassination of Soleimani and Al-Muhandis was "a strategic error which would hasten the fulfillment of the divine promise. The response to this error will be included in the Americans' textbooks so that they will learn it well… Today the balance of world power has changed, and we see the capability of the resistance in the new world order. The Middle East has now become the arena of the resistance empire, whose capital is the Islamic Republic [of Iran]. The response to America's act of terror in the [Baghdad] airport will be level-headed, harsh, and coordinated with [the forces] throughout this empire. The marines should immediately return to their lairs to build coffins, for the international resistance regiments[3] have been established to take harsh and level-headed retaliatory action against the American forces of terror."
Al-Ka'bi urged U.S. President Trump to examine the military maps before spewing nonsense, and to remember that "the strategic depth of the resistance axis is 128 times the strategic depth of the Zionist entity." He added that the resistance factions are armed with "the most advanced smart missiles, which can end the cursed [U.S.] presence in western Asia and annihilate the false Zionist entity in one hour." He stressed that "after the martyrdom of Hajj Qassem Soleimani, we are even closer to the beloved Al-Quds... The strategic patience of Al-Nujaba and all the [other] resistance factions will run out when we receive the order [from our leadership], and at that moment you will not be able to even think of a response... We swear by the pure blood of General Qassem and Abu Mahdi that we will strike [the enemies so hard] that the only refuge their military commanders will find will be under the bellies of desert animals. Don't forget that we are the masters of this campaign and that the time of attacking and fleeing is over.[4]
[1] Twitter.com/QaisAlKhazali, January 8, 2020.
[2] Alalamtv.net, January 8, 2020.
[3] On January 5, 2020, Shi'ite Iraqi leader Muqtada Al-Sadr called on the resistance factions in Iraq and beyond to meet and establish the international resistance brigade. See MEMRI report: Reactions In Iraq To Parliamentary Decision Demanding That Iraqi Government End Foreign Military Presence In Iraq, January 5, 2020;Nasser Al-Shammari, deputy secretary-general of the Al-Nujaba movement, announced on January 6, 2020, that the meeting was expected to be held in the near future. See MEMRI report: Iraqi Shi'ite Militias: The American Embassy In Baghdad Is A Big Target; If Sanctions Are Imposed On Iraq We Will Stop The Flow Of Oil From The Gulf, January 7, 2020.
[4] Ar.mehrnews.com, January 8, 2020.
