Iran-backed jihadists threaten to attack U.S. forces in Iraq

Special to WorldTribune.com

The Iran-sponsored Hizbullah Brigades in Iraq have vowed to attack American troops after the U.S. Army said it would send reinforcements to support the international coalition fighting Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL).

Hizbullah Brigades, which is not directly affiliated with Lebanon-based Hizbullah, said in a March 20 statement that “the United States increasingly intervenes in Iraq’s issues with its presence in the Iraqi joint operations command.”

Hizbullah Brigades forces in Iraq.
Hizbullah Brigades forces in Iraq.

“We have vanquished the American occupation with our quality and quantity in the past and we will continue attacking them, with our resources significantly increased,” the statement said.

Col. Steve Warren, the spokesman for the U.S. military operation against ISIL, announced on March 20 that a group of Marines will be deployed to reinforce existing forces in Iraq.

Last week, an American Marine was killed and several others wounded in an ISIL rocket attack on a base in northern Iraq.

Hizbullah Brigades said that “Iraq’s streets are still filled with the ruins of their (U.S.) vehicles that destroyed our explosive devices, and those injured by their soldiers are still hospitalized.

“The occupation’s coward soldiers should understand that however protective their vehicles are, these vehicles will become an obstacle for them and they will burn to death inside them.”

U.S. sources say Hizbullah Brigades in Iraq received training and logistical aid from the Iranian Quds force as well as from Lebanese Hizbullah.