BAGHDAD — The U.S. military has beefed up security at some bases after a threat that an Iranian-backed militant group planned attacks, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq said Tuesday.
Men from Kataib Hezbollah, a Shiite group that U.S. officials say is trained and funded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, crossed into Iran for training and returned to conduct attacks just as U.S. troop levels plummet over the summer, Gen. Ray Odierno said. By September, only 50,000 U.S. troops will remain in Iraq.
Odierno said the Iranian- backed militant groups seem focused primarily on attacking U.S. troops, and don’t pose a long-term threat to the Iraqi government.
Iran has been an influential and sometimes nefarious neighbor to Iraq since the U.S. invasion in 2003. Iraqi officials often fly to neighboring Teh ran for consultation, and the Islamic republic is a top trade partner for Iraq.
U.S. officials say Iran still funnels weaponry to Shiite militia groups in Iraq, although it does so much less frequently than it did in years past. Overall, Iran is pursuing more of a “soft power” approach in Iraq, Odierno said, trying to exert influence through economic investment and political pressure so as not to alienate the Iraqi people.
The Washington Post
