Iranian-backed militias in Iraq are ending the truce that was intended to allow the Iraqi government time to negotiate the withdrawal of US troops, a senior member of one of the militias confirmed to The National on Tuesday.
Haider Al Lami, a member of the political council of the Al Nujaba Movement, announced that the “resistance factions” have terminated the ceasefire, making all US bases in Iraq potential targets. He criticized the American side for what he described as “procrastination and stalling” during the withdrawal talks.
The decision to end the truce follows a US strike on July 30 that killed at least four members of the Popular Mobilization Forces' 47th Brigade at a base in Babil province, south of Baghdad. In response, rockets struck the Ain Al Asad airbase in western Iraq, which houses US troops, injuring at least five American personnel. The attack was claimed by a group known as The Revolutionaries.
The Ain al-Asad base had also been targeted by two armed drones in mid-July, marking the first attack on US forces in Iraq since early February, when Iranian-backed groups had announced a temporary halt to their operations against American troops.