Sayyed Sistani Condemns US Strikes on PMU Bases, Urges Respect for Iraq Sovereignty

By Staff, Agencies

Iraq’s most prominent Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali al-Sistani vehemently condemned recent US airstrikes on several bases of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units [PMU], known in Arabic as the Hashd al-Shaabi, where more than two dozen fighters were killed.

“The supreme religious authority condemns the criminal aggression that targeted a number of official Iraqi forces and resulted in the martyrdom and wounds of many,” Sayyed Sistani’s office said in a statement on Monday.

It added that the “illegal practices carried out by some sides” must not be used as a reason to violate Iraq’s sovereignty.

The statement came just a day after US forces conducted airstrikes on a number of Hezbollah Brigades bases in the western province of Anbar.

The aerial aggression killed at least 27 individuals and wounded 51 others, according to the latest toll released on Monday by the PMU. The targeted Hezbollah Brigades forces belonged to Brigades 45 and 46 of the PMU.

The Pentagon said in a statement on Sunday evening that the raids targeted weapons storage facilities and command control locations, claiming that the bombings were in response to attacks targeting American forces in Iraq.

“Iraqi authorities alone are entitled to deal with these practices and take the necessary measures to prevent them. They are called upon to do so and to ensure Iraq does not become a field for settling regional and international scores and that others do not interfere in its internal affairs,” Ayatollah Sistani added.

PMU fighters played a major role in the liberation of areas held by Daesh [the Arabic acronym for terrorist ‘ISIS/ISIL’ group] to the south, northeast and north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, after the terrorists launched an offensive in the country, overrunning vast parts in lightning attacks.