![Members of Hezbollah's armed wing stand to attention as hundreds of people gather to watch a televised speech by Hassan Nasrallah on February 22, 2008, in Beirut, Lebanon. [JOSEPH BARRAK/AFP via Getty Images]](/sites/default/files/styles/d08_standard/public/2020-06/GettyImages-79952586.jpg?h=10d202d3&itok=NJKm6ctR "Members of Hezbollah's armed wing stand to attention as hundreds of people gather to watch a televised speech by Hassan Nasrallah on February 22, 2008, in Beirut, Lebanon. [JOSEPH BARRAK/AFP via Getty Images]")
Senior Iraqi leaders say the US was behind the Thursday raid on the headquarters of Kata'ib Hezbollah, which raised serious questions about Iraq's direction under the new government.
Kata'ib Hezbollah is an anti-US unit operating under Hashd al-Sha'abi - an Iraqi umbrella group also known as Popular Mobilization Forces (PMU) which includes more than 40 militia groups fighting Takfiri terrorism.
“The late Thursday night's operation against Hashd al-Sha’abi had been dictated by the United States. There are foreign interventions and bids to harm the PMU,” Qais al-Khazali, leader of Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq which is part of the PMU, said in a statement released on Friday.
He advised Iraqi officials not to engage in a confrontation with Hashd al-Sha’abi as the anti-terror group represents people from all strata of the Iraqi society.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
