Pro-Iran faction urges Iraqi troops ‘get away’ from US forces in bases

The vehemently anti-American group’s statement came after mortars and rockets hit near the US embassy and a base where US troops are stationed on Saturday.

Kataeb Hezbollah, a hardline pro-Iran faction in Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi military network, urged Iraqi troops on Saturday to move away from US forces at military bases.

Mourners attend the funeral procession of the Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards, and the Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport, in Kerbala, Iraq, January 4, 2020. (Reuters photo)

“We ask security forces in the country to get at least 1,000 meters away from US bases starting on Sunday at 5:00pm (1400 GMT),” said the group.

The vehemently anti-American group’s statement came after mortars and rockets hit near the US embassy and a base where US troops are stationed on Saturday.