A member of the Iraqi al-Nujaba movement announced today, Wednesday, that the truce between the armed factions and U.S. forces has ended. Mehdi al-Kaabi stated during a press conference that the truce of the "Islamic Resistance" armed factions in Iraq with U.S. forces has "ended." This movement, which is part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, announced back in February 2024 that it had halted its attacks against U.S. forces in the country. However, it later participated in what is termed the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq," which has repeatedly announced launching rockets toward Israel, although none of these alleged attacks resulted in significant damage.
"Calm Before the Storm"
In February, the Secretary-General of al-Nujaba in Iraq, Akram al-Kaabi, described the cessation of military operations against U.S. bases as the "calm before the storm." Leadership from al-Nujaba, Hezbollah, and Popular Mobilization camps have previously been targeted by drone strikes and U.S. fighter jets, resulting in the deaths of several individuals. A source from the Iraqi armed factions revealed earlier that al-Kaabi rejected mediation from political and diplomatic leaders to halt his faction's attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria. He conditioned stopping the attacks on the announcement of a withdrawal timetable or the actual withdrawal of these forces from Iraq, alongside halting the war in Gaza.
On October 17, armed Iraqi factions announced they would target U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria as long as the war in Gaza continued, considering the United States a partner of the Israeli army in its actions in Gaza. During that time, U.S. forces conducted multiple strikes against the bases of these armed groups in both countries, threatening further actions if the attacks continued.
