Militia demands Biden withdraw US troops from Iraq or Americans will be expelled ‘in their coffins’

Iraqi militia are demanding that U.S. forces make a complete withdrawal from the country or else face increased attacks on American troops.

The  head of one of the militia groups, Sheikh Mohammed al-Tamimi, told Newsweek that if “reckless, senile” President Joe Biden does not comply, U.S. troops will be sent out of Iraq “in coffins.”

“If the agreement is not achieved, we will expel the Americans in their coffins from Iraq, and we will humiliate the ‘Black House’ administration,” Tamimi, the secretary-general of Faylaq al-Waad al-Sadiq, told Newsweek. “And they will see who the resistance is and what the capabilities of the resistance are, especially now that we have drones and long-range smart missiles.”

According to the outlet, the name of Tamimi’s group translates to the “True Promise Corps,” and is “one of several factions that have banded together as part of the ‘Islamic Resistance in Iraq,’ which launched a campaign of near-daily rocket and drone attacks against U.S. forces stationed in Iraq and Syria in October, shortly after the war between Israel and Hamas erupted in the Gaza Strip.”

Iraq’s government began a more hard-line demand for the U.S. to withdraw all forces following Biden’s call for more intense airstrikes after three U.S. soldiers were killed on the border of Jordan and Syria in January. In February, U.S. Central Command launched “a unilateral strike in Iraq in response to the attacks on U.S. service members, killing a Kata’ib Hezbollah commander responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on U.S. forces in the region.”

“The Pentagon soon commenced talks with Iraqi counterparts over a ‘transition’ in the U.S. military presence, which is officially limited to battling the remnants of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS),” Newsweek reported. “With these assurances, a number of Islamic Resistance in Iraq militias largely paused their campaign, instead turning their sights on Israel itself.”

But there seemed to be little to no progress in the eyes of the militia leader who issued his ultimatum.

Ahead of #Iraq‘s prime minister’s visit to Washington, the secretary-general of #IRGCterrorists-backed Faylaq al-Waad al-Sadiq is threatening “if these forces do not withdraw, they will be sent with coffins, & we will destroy the American bases.” https://t.co/48dOSI8UOJ

— Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) March 27, 2024

Tamimi said Faylaq al-Waad al-Sadiq and its Muslim guerilla fighters are “an essential part” of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which includes groups such as Kataib Hezbollah, the Nujaba Movement and others.

“The role of the mujahideen in the corps is to defend the land of Iraq, and this is a right guaranteed by divine laws and international treaties,” Tamimi said. “For the leadership and mujahideen of the corps, targeting the American occupation in Iraq is a legitimate, national and moral duty, and Iraq’s sovereignty is a duty that everyone must respect.”

“The role of the corps’ mujahideen was to target any clear American presence and target the Zionist entity,” he told Newsweek, while also dismissing assertions that he leads a state-sponsored group.

“Faylaq al-Waad al-Sadiq is Iraqi, and the mujahideen of the corps are Iraqis,” Tamimi said. “We have coordination with the resistance factions in Lebanon, Yemen, or Gaza. We do not have coordination with any country, only with the resistance. We are with the unity of the resistance.”

He recapped what has been referred to by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq as the “second phase” of operations.

“The Iraqi resistance now stands with the Palestinian people, and our duty now is to stand with them and support them against the crime and genocide against them by the Zionist entity supported by the American government, Britain, and Europe,” Tamimi said.

“The change in strategies in the Iraqi resistance was clear, especially after the American deal with the Iraqi government, which was urgently asking us to stop the jihadi operations in Iraq,” he continued. “In return, there will be immediate withdrawal from Iraq, non-interference in the Iraqi situation, and Iraqi money will be handed over.”

“We respect the right of peoples to live in peace, and it is our right to have peace in our country without American military forces on the land of Iraq. The Iraqi people respect all peoples but reject the military presence on the land of Iraq,” Tamimi added, reiterating his warning.

“If these forces do not withdraw, they will be sent with coffins, and we will destroy the American bases,” he proclaimed.

“And we are able to carry out more operations than the Hamas movement in its storming of the bases of the Zionist entity,” he said. “We are able to shatter these bases.”

The leader also made what Newsweek called a “direct appeal to the U.S. people.”

“We wish peace for everyone, and we want to live in peace in our country,” Tamimi said. “We ask you to withdraw your children from our country, Iraq, and let us live in security, prosperity and peace. We welcome the American people to visit our country for a tourist or commercial visit, but we reject their military presence, and they must know that we do not need them.”

Senior Staff Writer
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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