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US Sanctions Iraq's Asaib Ahl al-Haq

Members of Asaib Ahl al-Haq walk outside their premises in Basra, Iraq November 8, 2018. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani
Members of Asaib Ahl al-Haq walk outside their premises in Basra, Iraq November 8, 2018. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani
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US Sanctions Iraq's Asaib Ahl al-Haq

Members of Asaib Ahl al-Haq walk outside their premises in Basra, Iraq November 8, 2018. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani
Members of Asaib Ahl al-Haq walk outside their premises in Basra, Iraq November 8, 2018. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani

The United States has designated Iraq’s Asaib Ahl al-Haq as a terrorist organization along with two of the militia group's leaders, the State Department said in a statement on Friday.

The group and its leaders are “violent proxies” of Iran, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

The group is backed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, which has also been sanctioned by Washington, according to the State Department.

The designation came after a US airstrike killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian commander, in Baghdad.

The White House justified the killing with a tweet saying that Soleimani “was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region."

The 62-year-old led the Quds Force, which undertakes the country's foreign campaigns.

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Lebanon's PM Says Country to Begin Disarming South Litani to Ensure State Presence

President Joseph Aoun met with PM Najib Mikati at Baabda palace. (NNA)
President Joseph Aoun met with PM Najib Mikati at Baabda palace. (NNA)
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Lebanon's PM Says Country to Begin Disarming South Litani to Ensure State Presence

President Joseph Aoun met with PM Najib Mikati at Baabda palace. (NNA)
President Joseph Aoun met with PM Najib Mikati at Baabda palace. (NNA)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Friday that the state will begin disarming southern Lebanon, particularly the south Litani region, to establish its presence across the country.
"We are in a new phase - in this new phase, we will start with south Lebanon and south Litani specifically in order to pull weapons so that the state can be present across Lebanese territory," Mikati said.

Mikati's remarks followed a meeting with newly elected President Joseph Aoun at the Baabda Presidential Palace. Aoun was elected as the country's new head of state by parliament on Thursday, ending a vacancy in the presidency that had persisted for over two years.

In his address to parliament, Aoun pledged to control weapons outside the state's control, saying the government is the sole entity authorized to possess and use military force and weapons.
A ceasefire agreement that ended the 13-month-conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in November has given the Lebanese party 60 days to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli forces are also required to withdraw from the area over the same period.
The ceasefire agreement says Israeli forces will move south of the Blue Line “in a phased manner” within 60 days. The Lebanese army’s troops will deploy “in parallel” to the positions.