The umbrella group of Iraqi anti-terror fighters announced in a statement that it had deferred a pre-planned operation that was scheduled for Friday after receiving a request from Hadi al-Ameri and in support of the positions taken by several Iraqi political leaders.
In a statement, the group stressed that the decision was a postponement rather than a cancellation, declaring that “the blood of the martyrs will never be a commodity to be traded in the marketplace of political calculations.”
The group also issued a warning to Washington and its regional allies.
“The American enemy and its allies must know that sovereignty is not restored through weak and cautious statements, but revived by the fists of the loyal,” it said.
It further urged Iraqi political figures “whose positions and power have distracted them from defending the blood of the martyrs and the country’s violated sovereignty” to reconsider their stance and “return to the right path.”
The announcement came hours after al-Ameri, the head of the Badr Organization and one of Iraq’s most influential Shia political leaders, publicly appealed to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq to postpone “any response” to the recent US-Saudi strikes on affiliated positions.
“I appeal to my sons and brothers in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq to postpone any response to the American-Saudi attack that targeted Iraq, and to endure these wounds patiently, for the sake of Iraq’s higher interest,” al-Ameri said in a video message.
He added that “the rights of the martyrs and wounded will be pursued through diplomatic means.”
The delay follows an ultimatum reportedly set by the resistance for the Iraqi government to take action over the strikes.
Last week, joint US-Saudi strikes against several of offcial headquarters of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) in Baghdad and five other provinces killed at least 20 and wounded 32 members of the anti-terror group.
Saudi Arabia said the attacks came in response to attacks against its oil facilities that it claimed were launched from Iraq without providing evidence.
Separately on Friday, Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, said Saudi Arabia had “not yet provided evidence or proof of its claims regarding the exposure of its lands to bombing.”
The PMU has been a major part of Iraq’s years-long efforts to restore security after the Arab country was invaded by the United States and allies in 2003.
The organization has successfully defeated terrorist groups operating in various parts of Iraq, while also helping the central government in Baghdad in its post-war reconstruction endeavor.
MNA
