Raising anti-US slogans, Iran-backed militias and their supporters in Baghdad and other cities in Iraq held funeral processions for the fighters killed in US strikes.
Hundreds of militiamen in uniform gathered on Sunday morning in Baghdad at the headquarters of the Popular Mobilization Forces, also known as Hashd Al Shaabi, a network of mainly pro-Iran paramilitary units formed in the battle against ISIS in 2014.
On Friday night, the US military had launched 85 strikes against Tehran-backed militiamen in Iraq and Syria.
At least 16 people were killed, and 25 others wounded in Iraq including civilians, the Iraqi government said.
The attacks were the first wave of retaliation ordered by President Joe Biden for a drone attack that killed three US troops in Jordan on January 28.
“Allahu akbar, America is the Great Satan,” the mourners shouted, waiving Iraqi and PMF flags and vowing retaliation.
The funeral was attended by Hadi Al Amiri, a powerful Shiite politician who heads Badr Organisation, which has an influential militia.
US-sanctioned Falih Al Fayyadh, the chairman of the PMF also took part.
“The Parliament should adopt a courageous decision to defend the Iraqi people to immediately order the departure of these troops out of Iraq,” Mr Al Amiri said.
He also heads the Fatah Alliance, a leading part of the Iran-backed Co-ordination Framework, now the largest block in parliament.
“The presence of these forces is a betrayal of the Iraqi people,” Mr Al Amiri said.
International coalition
The US leads an international coalition formed in 2014 to fight ISIS, which at that time controlled large areas in northern and western Iraq.
After declaring ISIS defeated by the end of 2017, about 5,000 US troops remained, along with others from the international coalition.
In 2020, Shiite politicians voted in parliament for the departure of foreign forces after the assassination of Iranian Gen Qassem Suleimani and senior Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis in a US drone strike in Baghdad.
While the US refused to withdraw, former US president Donald Trump reduced the number of soldiers in Iraq to 2,500 and agreed with Iraq to end the US combat mission and to shift it to an advisory and educational one.
Under pressure from Iran-backed Shiite militias and political factions, the government started late last month talks with the US over ending the mission of the International Coalition and replace it with bilateral security agreements.
Mr Al Amiri said these negotiations “mere procrastination and means more sacrifices and blood we offer only to please America”.
For his part, Mr Al Fayyadh, the chairman of PMF, described the attacks as “heinous crime that targeted Hashd Al Shaabi protecting the borders and is based on flimsy, invalid and untrue excuses”.
“All what they [Americans] say about supporting Iraq to defeat terrorism are lies,” he said to the gathering from a stage decorated with the pictures of the slain fighters.
“They are the ones who contribute to weakening our forces and to preventing them from doing their main deputies to defend this country,” he added.
“The Iraqi land will be cleansed of all foreign presence,” he said. “These blood will not go in vain.”
Following the US strikes, the militias vowed retaliation.
Harakat Al Nujaba said it would redouble its resistance to the presence of US forces in Iraq.
“Let the American occupation and its ill-fated administration know that the Islamic resistance will respond with what it deems appropriate at the time and place it wants, and that this is not the end,’’ it said.
‘’We have surprises that will anger the enemy and you will exit Iraq humiliated and disgraced. We will not make peace, we will not retreat, and we will not be defeated.”
The biog
Hometown: Birchgrove, Sydney Australia
Age: 59
Favourite TV series: Outlander Netflix series
Favourite place in the UAE: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque / desert / Louvre Abu Dhabi
Favourite book: Father of our Nation: Collected Quotes of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Thing you will miss most about the UAE: My friends and family, Formula 1, having Friday's off, desert adventures, and Arabic culture and people
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Greatest Royal Rumble results
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The specs
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Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
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Transmission: 10-speed auto
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Greenwood 77')
Everton 1 (Lindelof 36' og)
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Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
