Iraqi armed factions vow revenge for Shiite commanders’ killings
Iraqi politicians and leaders of Shiite armed groups now incorporated into government forces have vowed to get revenge for the US drone attack that killed IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani and Kataib Hezbollah militia chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
BAGHDAD — Iraq's parliament passed a resolution Jan. 5 calling on the government to expel US troops from the country, a day after a funeral procession for Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani and Kataib Hezbollah chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis took place in the capital and other Iraqi cities.
The resolution seems unlikely to actually end the US troop presence in Iraq, however, US Secretary State Mike Pompeo responded: "We're confident the Iraqi people want the United States to continue to be there."
Several explosions were heard in the capital late that evening, with reports of rockets hitting the Green Zone and another area.
A Jan. 3 US drone attack widely held to be a violation of Iraqi sovereignty killed Muhandis and Soleimani, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force commander, as they were leaving the Baghdad airport.
