Baghdad is ‘unhappy’ with US decision for diplomatic withdrawal, calls for reconsideration

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Amidst mounting diplomatic pressure to crackdown on attacks against international targets in central and southern Iraq, Baghdad is calling on the US to reconsider its decision to close down its embassy in the capital city.

“The government is unhappy with the US administration’s decision to withdraw from Baghdad, and calls on it to reconsider its decision, especially since closing the embassy gives the wrong signals to the Iraqi people,” Iraqi foreign minister Fuad Hussein told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday.

Washington has signaled it could close its diplomatic mission in Baghdad if measures are not taken to control armed groups responsible for recent attacks against US and other interests in the country, Iraqi and US officials said Monday.

Hussein told the press that Baghdad is taking serious steps to identify the attackers, but cautioned that it will take some time.

“We act according to the Iraqi interest, and to keep violence out of society, therefore we aim to arrest some people involved in targeting diplomatic missions,” said Hussein, who mentioned that the government is in consultations with a number of armed groups backed by Iran in effort to have them halt their aggressions.

Hussein’s statements come shortly after Kadhimi met with the ambassadors of 25 countries in Baghdad to discuss the recent security breaches. The ambassadors of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, US, and UK attended the meeting alongside 21 other ambassadors. Iranian diplomats were notably absent from the meeting.

“We expressed our deep concern at the rise in the number and sophistication of attacks against diplomatic premises in Iraq, including rocket and IED attacks,” reads a joint statement by the meeting attendees.

“We welcomed the actions that Prime Minister Kadhimi and his government have taken to address these concerns, including investigations, security operations and the enhancement of airport security,” the statement added.

Kadhimi also released a statement following the meeting restating his opposition to the attacks.

“Iraq is keen to impose the rule of law, confine weapons to the state, and protect diplomatic missions and headquarters, stressing that the perpetrators of attacks against the diplomatic missions seek to destabilize Iraq and sabotage its regional and international relations,” Iraqi Prime Minister media office tweeted on Wednesday.

The meeting comes after head of the Iraqi parliament’s security committee, Mohammed Ridha told state news agency INA on Monday that Kadhimi is rushing to establish a committee that will investigate the attacks on diplomatic missions and international targets inside Iraq.

The US ambassador to Baghdad said Monday that Washington will continue supporting the Iraqi government in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) and maintaining security in the country, according to state media.

Convoys driven by Iraqis and contracted by the US-led coalition have come under almost daily attacks across central Iraq in recent months.

Diplomatic missions have also come under attack. A British diplomatic vehicle hit an IED in Baghdad earlier this month and a blast at an English-language institute in Najaf’s city centre on September 18 caused substantial material damage.

Diplomatic targets are more often hit by missiles within Baghdad's Green Zone, home to foreign diplomatic offices and Iraqi government buildings. Two Katyusha rockets fired at the American embassy in mid-September were intercepted by a US air defense system. Three mortars landed in the area last week.

The US Embassy and Iraqi military bases hosting coalition troops have been repeatedly targeted since the US assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad in January.

It is believed that the Iran-backed Islamic Front for Resistance inside Iraq (al-Muqawama) is responsible. Its aim is to force US troops to withdraw from the country and units of the group have claimed responsibility for similar attacks.

Most of the members of the Islamic Front for Resistance in Iraq are part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic), a paramilitary military group created in 2014 to fight ISIS. It was allegedly established by Soleimani shortly before his assassination and is thought to be composed of militants drawn from the ranks of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Kataib Hezbollah, the Badr Organization, and al-Nujaba.

Baghdad is ‘unhappy’ with US decision for diplomatic withdrawal, calls for reconsideration

Yazidi MP says Iraqi federal committee to facilitate return of Shingal IDPs

30,000 displaced return to Shingal as 19,000 families remain in Kurdistan camps: Ministry

Iraq extradites three wanted suspects, steps up Interpol cooperation as nationwide anti-corruption probe intensifies

Related Articles

Yazidi MP says Iraqi federal committee to facilitate return of Shingal IDPs

30,000 displaced return to Shingal as 19,000 families remain in Kurdistan camps: Ministry

Iraq extradites three wanted suspects, steps up Interpol cooperation as nationwide anti-corruption probe intensifies