“The declaration of war is the prerogative of the Iraqi state’s legislative and executive institutions based on the law and the constitution,” reads a statement issued jointly by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, President Barham Salih, Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halboosi, and President of the Supreme Judicial Council Fayeq Zaidan, after their meeting in Baghdad.
“No armed group has the right to declare a state of war or act on the basis of a state of war inside Iraqi territory,” the statement added.
Shortly after the leaders released their statement, the Iraqi Security Media Cell announced a convoy under contract and transporting equipment for the US-led Coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) struck a roadside bomb in Babil. This was the second such incident on Sunday. One vehicle in a convoy was damaged when it hit an improvised explosive device (IED) in Dhi Qar province.
The Iraqi leadership said that attacks by “outlaw” armed groups inside Iraq are shifting the country’s stability and security towards “real danger.”
“Unity and decisive stances” are needed to end the cycle of attacks against diplomatic missions and bring all weapons under the control of the state, they said.
Convoys, driven by Iraqis under contract to the Coalition, have come under almost daily attacks in 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.
The attack on the British embassy vehicle was condemned by influential Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the commander of Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah, Abu Ali al-Askari.
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 on Tuesday morning.
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.
Washington has threatened to close its embassy in Baghdad unless the Iraqi government can rein in the militias, according to multiple media reports.
On Friday, Sadr, who led armed opposition to US presence in Iraq after the 2003 invasion, on Friday urged the government to investigate the attacks on international targets a day after he called on the paramilitary network of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, also known as Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) to prevent armed groups within its folds from firing rockets and carrying out assassination, saying these actions will shift Iraq towards the unknown.
Leaders of a group of Iranian-backed militias – who describe themselves as the Islamic Front for Resistance – do not have a unified stance on the matter.
The commander of Kataib Hezbollah, Abu Ali al-Askari, vowed to continue attacks on US targets inside Iraq, in a post on the Telegram messaging app on Friday. A newly formed Iranian-backed armed group, Asahab al-Kahaf, also via Telegram, accused Sadr of siding with US and having “betrayed” the Islamic Front for Resistance who are backed by Iran. The group vowed to continue its “war” against the US.
Secretary General of the Harakat al-Nuajba armed group, Akram al-Kaabi, tweeted on Sunday that their missiles are active and ready to launch, but they are waiting for a group decision to be made by all units within the Islamic Front for Resistance to target the US embassy in Baghdad.
Asaib Ahl al-Haq, however, said it is best to halt attacks on the US embassy in Baghdad for now to avoid turning Iraq into a “battlefield.” It would rather see focus on other issues such as the assassination of PMF commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iranian general Qassem Soleimani who were killed in a US drone attack on the main road in Baghdad International Airport on January 3.
Most of the members of the Islamic Front for Resistance in Iraq are part of the PMF, a paramilitary military group created in 2014 to fight ISIS. It was allegedly established by Soleimani shortly before his death 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.
A primary goal of the Front is to force the US to withdraw its troops from Iraq. It is also designed to act as an insurance policy should Tehran lose influence over Iraq’s government. A key feature of the Front is its independence from Iraq’s official military and political structures, allowing it to pursue Iranian interests without outside interference.
