Iraqi Militia Leader Qais Khazali: If The U.S. Refuses To Withdraw All Its Forces From Iraq, The Resistance Will Continue, Escalate Its Operations

Iraqi militia leader Qais Khazali, Secretary-General of Asa'ib Ahl Al-Haq said that if the U.S. does not withdraw all its forces from Iraq, then the "operations of the resistance" will continue and escalate. He made these remarks in an address that was aired on Al-Ahd TV (Iraq) on April 2, 2021. Khazali said that the Americans must withdraw from all of Iraq, not only from the bases in central and western Iraq. He also accused the U.S. of being responsible for the emergence of ISIS and of only caring for what benefits the "Zionist entity."

Qais Khazali: "We, the factions of the Islamic resistance, would like to reiterate that we have taken up arms in order to put an end to the American occupation, and remove the military presence [in Iraq] in its entirety, along with the American military bases. [The Americans] never wanted the good of the [Iraqi] people, and never will. This American military presence betrayed the 1991 uprisings. The [Americans] are responsible for the emergence of ISIS, as their own leaders have admitted. They never wanted the good of Iraq, only the good of the Zionist entity.

"I want to reiterate that the operations of the resistance that are taking place now will continue, and they will escalate, both in terms of quantity and quality, if the U.S. does not agree to pull out all its fighting forces from Iraq. And when I say 'all,' I mean 'all' -- not only the bases in central and western Iraq, but the ones in northern Iraq as well. "