Iraq’s Kataeb Hezbollah vows more attacks on US forces

Attacks by Iraq’s Kataeb Hezbollah militia against U.S. interests on Friday are the start of “new rules of engagement,” a security official from the group
said in a social media post.
The Iran-aligned group, while not claiming responsibility for a rare attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Friday, claimed the embassy was a forward operating base for planning military operations.
The attack was condemned by the U.S. and by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who said it was an act of terrorism against a diplomatic mission.
But Kataeb Hezbollah (KH) said the facility was a base involved in planning military operations. Those who described it as a diplomatic mission were “subservient” and self-interested, Abu Ali al-Askari, a security official from the group, said in a social media post.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a Friday call with Sudani, singled out KH and another group, Haraket Hezbollah al-Nujaba, for the recent targeting of U.S. personnel and said the U.S. reserved its right to respond.
U.S. officials have reported more than 80 attacks against U.S. interest in Iraq and Syria since mid-October, most claimed by an umbrella-group of Iran-aligned Iraqi militias over Washington’s backing of Israel in its war in Gaza.