NATO has announced it suspended fight against ISIS in Iraq after Tehran and its proxies vowed to take “harsh revenge” for the death of top general killed in US strikes in Baghdad, The Independent reported.
US killed Iran’s Chief of Quds forces, Qassem Suleimani, on Thursday in a strike in Baghdad on President Donald Trump’s order. The chief of Iraq’s Katayeb Hezbollah Abu Mahdi Muhandis and several other Iranian officers were also died in the attack.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations said the US “has started a military war by an act of terror” with the killing of Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani. “We must act and we will, “the diplomat has reportedly said.
The US-led Global Coalition against ISIS will also limit their activities in Iraq as the World worries over escalation of tensions between Iran and US.
“We will conduct limited anti-IS group ops with our security partners where it mutually supports our force protection efforts,” a US defence official told AFP on Saturday. “It is not a halt,” the source said.
Last year, oil tankers were attacked in the Persian Gulf, ships including two UK-flag vessels were detained and a US drone downed by the members of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC,) which designated as a foreign terrorist organization by US.
The tensions between Tehran and Washington have especially raised after pro-Iranian forces killed an American contractor in Kirkuk and attacked US embassy in Baghdad earlier last week. Two days later, US killed Qassem Suleimani in a strike on his car in Baghdad international airport.
Both Denmark and Sweden announced they will withdrew their military personnel from Iraq due to the situation. Hundreds of Coalition forces have been training Iraqi soldiers to fight ISIS.
