Shafaq News / The top US diplomat in the Middle East on Wednesday called on the Iraqi government to crack down on Iran-backed militias and hold them accountable for the disappearances and assassinations of Iraqi human rights and civil society activists as Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi prepares to visit Washington this month.

Speaking at a panel on Iraq hosted by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Mr Hood noted that last week marked the anniversary of the assassination of Hisham al-Hashimi, an Iraqi expert on extremist groups who was gunned down in Bsghdad.

The Iran-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah is widely believed to be behind Al Hashimi’s assassination.

“We continue to call on the Iraqi government to bring those responsible for his murder to justice, as well as those responsible for the killing of Ihab Al Wazni and the disappearance and killing of hundreds of other protesters and civil society activists,” Mr Hood said.

Mr Hood called on the Iran-backed militias to cease violence against the Iraqi people and end attacks on US forces stationed throughout Iraq.

“We want them to leave us alone and leave the Iraqi people alone,” said Mr Hood. “The more time we spend dodging rocket attacks and having to defend ourselves, which we will do, then the less time we can devote to all these other issues that are very, very important, like saving lives from Covid.”

US President Joe Biden's latest round of air strikes last month on Iran-backed militias— carried out in response to a drone attack on the US consulate in Erbil — prompted further attacks on US forces by armed groups.

The spate of violence between the US and the militias will feature highly on the agenda when Mr Al Kadhimi arrives in Washington this month for the latest strategic dialogue between the two countries.

This will be Mr Al Kadhimi’s first visit to Washington since Mr Biden took office.

Washington and Baghdad began a series of strategic dialogues last year to hammer out the future role of US forces in Iraq after the Iraqi Parliament took a symbolic, non-binding vote to expel American troops after the killing of Iranian Quds Force leader Maj Gen Qassem Suleimani and Popular Mobilisation Forces commander Abu Madhi Al Muhandis.

Source: The National