28 June 2020; MEMO: Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades threatened on Friday the new Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi over the detention of brigades’ leaders, Al-Watan Voice reported.
Abu Ali Al-Askari, security leader of the brigades, accused Al-Kazemi of “hiding his partnership in the crime” of the assassinations of Qasem Soleimani and the deputy commander of Al-Hashd Al-Sha’bi, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis.
Al-Askari considered the alleged partnership of killing Soleimani and Al-Muhandis as an “advance payment” for the US, stressing that Hezbollah Brigades are waiting for the best chance to take him down.
This came hours after the detention of leaders and members of the brigades, which is loyal to Iran, during a raid of a workshop for manufacturing rockets in Baghdad.
An informed source told Anadolu Agency that on Friday at dawn the members of the brigades broke into the office of an anti-terror security department in the Green Zone.
Sources close to the brigades disclosed that 13 members, including three leaders, were arrested and handed over to Al-Hashd Al-Sha’bi’s Security Directorate.
Official security sources did not confirm these reports, nor was there an official response from the Iraqi government.
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki warned of conflicts among the partners of the country and called for “self-control”.
He expressed that Al-Hashd Al-Sha’bi members: “Are our sons and they are the victory’s leaders and the address of power of the country and people.”
Recently, Al-Kazemi pledged to stop the repeated attacks on US diplomatic missions in the Green Zone, which started in the wake of the assassination of Qasem Soleimani.
