Iran-backed militia calls for lone wolf attacks against US troops

An Iran-backed militia in Iraq — believed responsible for a series of rocket attacks against coalition troops that nearly started a war between Iran and the U.S. — is calling for lone wolf attacks against U.S. forces, according to a message posted by the group.

The message said the “door of jihad” against American troops in Iraq was open and called for “all jihadists” in or outside of Iraq to carry out attacks against U.S. forces, according to Site Intelligence Group.

Rita Katz, the director of SITE Intelligence Group, tweeted that the statement from Kata-ib Hezbollah, or the Hezbollah Brigades, echoed ISIS calls for lone wolf attacks.

There are concerns that lone wolf attacks and continued rocket strikes could push the U.S. and Iran into a broader conflict.

U.S. officials have claimed that Iran-backed and Quds Force supported Kata-ib Hezbollah is responsible for a number of rocket attacks in Iraq against coalition forces, including the Dec. 27 rocket barrage on Kirkuk that killed an American contractor and wounded four U.S. troops.

American F-15 Strike Eagles struck five Kata-ib Hezbollah positions across Iraq and Syria on Dec. 29 killing a number of militants. The U.S. strikes led to demonstrators nearly storming the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, a U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, and a retaliatory Iranian ballistic missile strike against U.S. troops in Iraq.

No U.S. troops were wounded or killed in Iran’s ballistic missile attack, which slammed two Iraqi air bases at al-Asad and Irbil.

Source: Military Times