Iraqi militia on high alert, targets US bases, battleships

BAGHDAD — An Iraqi Islamic militia on Wednesday announced the state of highest alert, stressing that the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has a “target bank” for US bases and military ships in the region.

Iraqi armed group al-Nujaba Movement said on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that “all US military bases and battleships in the region are within the Iraqi resistance’s target bank.”

It added that all armed groups of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella body for Iraqi militias, are on the highest alert, stressing that the US bases and battleships “will be targeted from this moment,” Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier, Abu Ali al-Askari, security leader of the Iraqi Shiite militia Kata’ib Hezbollah, renewed a warning that his militia response will not be limited to Israel only, but will include the entire US presence if Israel assaults Iraq or uses its land and airspace to attack Iran.

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Since the onset of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza on October 7, 2023, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has conducted multiple attacks on Israeli and U.S. targets in the region in support of Palestinians in Gaza.