Iraqi factions hail US exit, some threaten attacks

Shafaq News- Baghdad (Updated on Oct.1, at 21:26)

Some of Iraq’s armed factions on Wednesday hailed the end of the US-led Global Coalition's military mission in Iraq, crediting armed resistance for the withdrawal, while other groups rejected any handover of their weapons and threatened to attack foreign forces on the ground or in the air.

The coalition, formed in 2014 to fight the Islamic State group (ISIS), ended its mission on September 30 under an agreement announced by Baghdad and Washington in September 2024. Security ties between Iraq and the United States are moving to a bilateral relationship, with intelligence sharing, training and arms cooperation expected to continue.

Read more: Iraq's Sovereignty Days: Coalition mission ends, factions keep their weapons

Asaib Ahl al-Haq

Asaib Ahl al-Haq described the completion of the US forces' withdrawal as a historic milestone. The withdrawal was the result of a long political process, but "behind it lie Iraqi sacrifices and resistance that pushed to end the foreign military presence, which played the most prominent role in ending this occupation," the group said in a statement.

The group urged the government to continue working to remove all foreign forces from Iraq, singling out Turkish troops, which “occupy several areas in the north without legal justification.” It also called for modern air defense systems, which “Iraq's armed forces lack,” to protect the country's airspace from violations.

Iraq's sovereignty will not be complete, the group said, until its oil revenue is freed from “ US control through the Federal Reserve.”*

Led by Qais al-Khazali, Asaib Ahl al-Haq is one of Iraq's most powerful armed factions. Its political wing, the Sadiqoon bloc, won 27 seats in parliament in the November 2025 election and belongs to the Coordination Framework, the alliance of Shiite parties that dominates parliament.The group has backed placing faction weapons under government authority, following Patriotic Shiite Movement (PSM) leader Muqtada al-Sadr’s decision to put Saraya al-Salam under state control.

Kataib Hezbollah

Secretary-general Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi said the group will halt military operations in Iraq following the withdrawal of US forces, calling for a new agreement with the government to define the relationship between armed factions and the state.

"The resistance has won this round against the US occupation," al-Hamidawi said. "The winner is the one who imposes his terms on the enemy."

He also disclosed that no agreement had been reached with Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, urging all parties to forge a solid accord that safeguards everyone's rights.

Ashab al-Kahf

Ashab al-Kahf rejected any handover of its weapons, dismissing the idea as "illusions" held by the weak and "slaves of the dollar," and threatened attacks on foreign forces.

"Starting tonight, any foreign presence, whether on the ground or in the air, will face a military response from us," the group said in a statement, describing this as a legitimate right under international law to confront occupation.

It said efforts by US Envoy Tom Barrack to pull Iraq out of the Axis of Resistance, the Iran-led network of allied armed groups across the region, would fail. The group vowed to keep acting in line with the axis, and warned that any country taking part in an attack on Iran should evacuate its military and economic interests. “Some of those countries should expect a response at any time, in revenge for PMF fighters killed.”

The group said it would soon unveil a new weapon, and it answers to no political party, only to the Shiite religious authority, and that anyone who wants it to disarm should produce a written ruling from that authority requiring it.

*Iraq's oil export revenues are deposited in an account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, managed by the Central Bank of Iraq on behalf of the Finance Ministry, under an arrangement dating to 2003.

Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya

The group said it would abide by agreed timelines between armed factions, the Coordination Framework and the government under what it called the “full sovereignty project,” including ending military operations inside Iraq.

The group's secretary-general, Sheikh Haidar al-Gharawi, said the faction was committed to Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's Sovereignty Day statement and to the terms of an agreed “sovereignty paper.”

Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada

The group said it is committed to an agreement reached between the parties involved and to Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi's Sovereignty Day speech, in which he declared there would be no weapons outside the law, as long as the other side keeps to its obligations.

It welcomed the end of the foreign military presence in Iraq as an important step toward completing the country's sovereignty, and thanked al-Zaidi for efforts that “spared Iraq Shiite-on-Shiite fighting and prevented a slide into internal strife.”

Harakat Al-Nujaba

Harakat Al-Nujaba warned against any continued US presence in the country, “whether as security companies, advisers or otherwise,” crediting armed resistance with pressuring Washington to withdraw.

The group also urged Baghdad to reduce the size of the US Embassy and conduct relations with Washington “on an equal footing.” Other demands included ending what the faction characterized as American influence over Iraq’s economy and political affairs, US military flights through Iraqi airspace, and troop deployments near the country’s borders in Syria, Jordan, and Kuwait.

Read more: Iraq's armed factions sit at the center of a Middle East war, experts say