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US logistics convoy targeted amid growing calls for withdrawal from Iraq

US soldiers in Bradley tanks patrol an area near Syria's northeastern Semalka border crossing with Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, on January 12, 2021.(Photo by AFP)

A roadside bomb attack has targeted a convoy carrying logistical equipment belonging to the US military in Iraq’s central Babil Province, as more voices are being raised against the prolonged presence of American forces on Iraqi soil.

The incident took place near the Kalsu bridge on Monday, reports said, without elaborating.

A security source told Iraq’s Shafaq News Agency that the convoy was carrying logistical support equipment for the US-led coalition.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast, which was the latest in a series of attacks targeting US forces in Iraq in recent months amid rising anti-US sentiment there.

However, an Iraqi group known as Ashab al-Kahf released a video of the incident on social media. 

The group has in the past repeatedly claimed attacks against convoys of US occupation forces.

On Saturday, Ashab al-Kahf announced the beginning of a new round of armed attacks against US interests dubbed 'Karbala operation.'

American occupation forces are required to leave Iraq under a resolution passed by the Arab country’s parliament on January 5, 2020.

It was approved two days after the US assassinated Iran’s anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and his Iraqi trenchmate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) or Hashd al-Sha’abi, two influential figures in the fight against the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

However, Washington has been dragging its feet on the troop pullout and targeting anti-terror groups from time to time.

Washington and Baghdad recently reached an agreement on the American military’s withdrawal, under which the US intends to keep its troops on Iraqi soil under the guise of providing advisory assistance to the Iraqi military.

US responsible for destruction of Iraq: MP

Speaking on Monday, an Iraqi lawmaker from the Fatah (Conquest) Alliance blamed the United States for the destruction of the Arab country.

Ali al-Fatlawi also called on all political factions to support the US withdrawal and stress the implementation of the parliamentary resolution to that effect.

He pointed to the destructive activities of Daesh, adding that the terror group’s remnants keep making attempts to undermine the security of Iraq from time to time.

An overnight attack on Sunday on a guard post near the city of Kirkuk killed 13 Iraqi policemen and wounded several others.

Daesh claimed responsibility for the deadly raid.

Iraq declared victory over Daesh in December 2017 after a three-year counter-terrorism military campaign, which also had the support of neighboring Iran.

The terror outfit’s remnants, though, keep staging sporadic attacks across Iraq, attempting to regroup and unleash fresh violence.


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