Armed Factions Demand Dismissal of Prominent Officer Backed by Iraq PM

Kataib Hezbollah slams PM Kadhimi for Muslih's arrest.
Kataib Hezbollah slams PM Kadhimi for Muslih's arrest.
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Armed Factions Demand Dismissal of Prominent Officer Backed by Iraq PM

Kataib Hezbollah slams PM Kadhimi for Muslih's arrest.
Kataib Hezbollah slams PM Kadhimi for Muslih's arrest.

The Kataib Hezbollah armed faction in Iraq warned the Iraqi government against repeating the arrest of prominent commanders of the pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

It also called on the government to arrest whom it described as “aggressors” in wake of the detention and eventual release of prominent PMF commander Qassim Muslih.

Muslih was arrested in late May over his suspected involvement in the killing of prominent anti-government activist Ihab al-Wazni. He was released last week after much political pressure and escalation by the PMF. Head of Iran’s Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani had also visited Baghdad last week to ease the tensions.

A spokesman for Kataib Hezbollah, known as Abou Ali al-Askari, tweeted that Muslih’s arrest in the first place was a “spiteful” move by the government.

He warned “the traitor” – a reference to Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi – against repeating such a move “otherwise we will not return to our positions before the aggressors are behind bars.”

Muslih was released after a settlement was reached between the factions and government in return to an end to the escalation. Political sources said he was freed after massive political pressure was exerted.

Notably, Askari seemed to snub Iran, when he warned the government that “friends, neither east nor west,” will come to its aid should it repeat the arrest.

Informed sources said that the Kataib Hezbollah and other factions are gunning for General Ahmed Abou Ragheef, the officer who ordered Muslih’s arrest.

The armed factions have been wary of Abou Ragheef ever since Kadhimi tasked him in August 2020 with handling the “extraordinary crimes” committee that is in charge of investigating corruption cases.

Abou Ragheef had served as interior minister in 2008. He was relieved of his post by then PM Nouri al-Maliki after mounting suspicions that he was planning a military coup against the government. He was appointed as director of intelligence affairs in former PM Haidar al-Abadi’s government. Kadhimi then promoted him to become one of his most senior officers.

Months ago, Abou Ragheef launched a wave of arrests against corrupt politicians and government figures. Despite coming under fierce criticism from his opponents, Kadhimi continued to place his trust in Abou Ragheef.

The officer’s efforts have so far uncovered a vast network of suspicious alliances between Iraqi leaders, armed factions and organized crimes gangs.

The situation eventually came to a head with Muslih’s arrest.

Some armed factions want to eliminate Abou Ragheef “permanently” because of their growing conviction that he will not stop until he reaches the top Shiite positions of power.

A “significant” source from the PMF revealed that a new order of arrests will be made soon.

A PMF commander in Najaf city told Asharq Al-Awsat that factions such as Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq want to exploit the Muslih crisis to punish Abou Ragheef.

“These factions are not exactly pleased with the Iranian maneuvers and settlements in the Iraqi file. They want to make actual moves against Kadhimi,” he revealed, adding however, that such a position is not shared by all Shiite groups.



Israel Wipes Out 29 Lebanese Border Towns

This handout satellite picture provided by Planet Labs PBC and dated October 24, 2024 shows a view of the village of the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on the border with Israel, amid the ongoing war between Hezbollah and Israel. (Photo by Planet Labs PBC / AFP)
This handout satellite picture provided by Planet Labs PBC and dated October 24, 2024 shows a view of the village of the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on the border with Israel, amid the ongoing war between Hezbollah and Israel. (Photo by Planet Labs PBC / AFP)
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Israel Wipes Out 29 Lebanese Border Towns

This handout satellite picture provided by Planet Labs PBC and dated October 24, 2024 shows a view of the village of the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on the border with Israel, amid the ongoing war between Hezbollah and Israel. (Photo by Planet Labs PBC / AFP)
This handout satellite picture provided by Planet Labs PBC and dated October 24, 2024 shows a view of the village of the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on the border with Israel, amid the ongoing war between Hezbollah and Israel. (Photo by Planet Labs PBC / AFP)

Some 29 Lebanese border villages have been “completely destroyed” by Israel, revealed Mohamed Chamseddine, policy research specialist at Information International.

Vidoes have been circulating on social media of dozens of houses in a Lebanese border village being detonated simultaneously by the Israeli army. Israel has been adopting this scorched earth policy since October in an attempt to set up a buffer zone along the border.

In one video, soldiers can be heard chanting a countdown before the detonation of several houses followed by celebrations.

Chamseddine told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel has destroyed 29 villages dotted across 120 kms from the Naqoura area in the west to Shebaa in the east.

The villages of Aita al-Shaab, Kfar Kila, Adeisseh, Houla, Dhayra, Marwahin, Mhaibib, and al-Khiam have been completely destroyed along with some 25,000 houses, he added.

Last month, the detonations in Adeisseh and Deir Seryan were so powerful that they caused tremors that were initially mistaken for earthquakes.

Experts are in agreement that Israel is completely wiping out villages and all signs of life, including trees, to turn the area into a buffer zone so that residents of northern Israel can return to their homes.

They also believe that the scorched earth policy means that residents of the South won’t be able to rebuild and replant what they lost once a ceasefire is reached and they can return home.

Brig. Gen. Hassan Jouni, former deputy chief of staff of operations in the Lebanese Armed Forces, said Israel wants to be create a 3 km-deep buffer zone along its border with Lebanon.

Israel is destroying everything in that area, leaving it exposed so that any possible threat there can be easily spotted, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

However, he remarked that Israel is not keeping its forces deployed in the South, so it won’t be able to hold any territory and keep these areas destroyed. Any political agreement will inevitably call for the return of Lebanese residents back to their villages where they will rebuild their homes, he explained.

The Lebanese state will in no way agree for the border strip to remain uninhabited and destroyed, Jouni stressed.

“In all likelihood, Israel already knows this, and its actions are part of a psychological war to punish the residents of those villages and towns because they are Hezbollah’s popular support base. Israel wants to drive a wedge between the people and Hezbollah. It is as if it is saying: ‘See how the party was unable to protect your homes,’” he went on to say.

Moreover, Jouni said Israel is mistaken if it believes that a buffer zone will restore security to its northern settlements because those areas can be targeted from beyond the border region.

So, what is taking place on the ground is in effect Israel just going to the extreme in violating international law, he added. “Its claims that it is targeting weapons and ammunition caches do not fool anyone because from a military standpoint, these caches are not stored along the border, but deeper in a country.”