Iraqi security forces raid Iran-backed militia headquarters - govt sources

Jun 26, 2020

Iraqi security forces raided a headquarters belonging to an Iran-backed militia south of Baghdad late on Thursday, seized rockets and detained three leaders of the group at the site, two Iraqi government officials said.

The officials said the militia group targeted was Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group that U.S. officials have accused of firing rockets at bases hosting U.S. troops and other facilities in Iraq. Kataib Hezbollah is also among the Iranian-backed militias backing Assad in Syria.

One government official told Reuters that one of the three leaders detained in the raid was an Iranian. Iraqi special forces from the Counter Terrorism Service carried out the raid, he said.

The official added that the three detained leaders were handed over to the U.S. military. A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

- Reuters