Iraqi militia on high alert, targets U.S. bases, battleships

BAGHDAD, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) — An Iraqi Islamic militia on Wednesday announced the state of highest alert, stressing that the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has a “target bank” for U.S. bases and military ships in the region.
Iraqi armed group al-Nujaba Movement said on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that “all U.S. military bases and battleships in the region are within the Iraqi resistance’s target bank.”
It added that all armed groups of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella body for Iraqi militias, are on the highest alert, stressing that the U.S. bases and battleships “will be targeted from this moment.”
Earlier, Abu Ali al-Askari, security leader of the Iraqi Shiite militia Kata’ib Hezbollah, renewed a warning that his militia response will not be limited to Israel only, but will include the entire U.S. presence if Israel assaults Iraq or uses its land and airspace to attack Iran.
Since the onset of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has conducted multiple attacks on Israeli and U.S. targets in the region in support of Palestinians in Gaza. ■