As of: January 31, 2024, 9:50 a.m
By: Stefan Krieger
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After a deadly drone attack, Hezbollah does not want to launch any further attacks on US troops for the time being.
US President Biden sees Iran as responsible.
Baghdad - Following the deadly attack on US soldiers in Jordan on Sunday (January 28), a pro-Iranian militia from Iraq has announced a suspension of all attacks on US troops.
The Kataib Hezbollah group said on Tuesday (January 30) that they did not want to embarrass the government in Baghdad.
A spokesman for the US Department of Defense did not directly address the announcement, but noted that there have been three more since Sunday's attack.
“The Iranian proxy groups” were asked to stop their attacks.
“They have not done that and so we will respond at a time and in a manner of our choosing.”
Pro-Iranian Hezbollah fighters during a staged military exercise at a camp in Lebanon.
(Archive image) © Marwan Naamani/dpa
Iraq wants to prevent escalation
According to the Iraqi government, Kataib Hezbollah's announcement was preceded by negotiations by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani aimed at preventing escalation.
Government circles in Baghdad said the attack was “obviously one step too many.”
Now everyone is at a crossroads.
The drone attack killed three US soldiers and injured more than 40.
The USA had declared that the act bore the hallmarks of Kataib Hezbollah.
The Hezbollah Brigades is a group affiliated with the pro-Iranian Hashed al-Shaabi network.
The network is an Iran-backed coalition of former paramilitaries that was incorporated into Iraq's regular army.
Biden under pressure: Republicans talk about inaction
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday accused Iran of procuring the weapons for the deadly drone strike.
“I hold them responsible in the sense that they provided the weapons to the people who did this,” Biden said.
Tehran had denied any connection to the attack.
Biden came under domestic political pressure as a result of the attack in the year of the US election in 2024: Republicans have repeatedly accused him of inaction.
(skr/afp/rtr)