Does Al-Halbousi put an end to Iraqi Hezbollah terrorism?

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mohamed Al-Halbousi, promised to prosecute criminals and murderers domestically and internationally, in a response to the Hezbollah battalions in Iraq.

“We will continue to pursue criminals and murderers who have missed innocent people in Razazah, Saqlawiyah and the Jurf Sakhar, and then return to repeat their crimes by missing and killing young protagonists seeking state and justice”, said Al-Halbousi in an interview tweet.

Hezbollah battalions have often been accused of engaging in abductions and absenteeism of citizens in those areas, as well as being accused of attacking protesters near the Sinak Bridge in Baghdad in 2019.

Halabusi added: “Your crimes will not be forgiven, you are destined to appear before the law domestically and internationally, and make sure that you do not escape the justice of the Creator”.

The leader of the Hezbollah battalions Abu Ali Askari attacked Al-Halbousi and called him “clown” in a tweet first yesterday, against the backdrop of the attempt to arrest the son of Al Anbar Awakening leader Sutam Abu Risha.

He said: “Whoever tries to attack Sheikh Sutam is like he’s assaulting all the free people in Iraq”.

He added: “Hezbollah battalions will stand with those who complain about injustice (clown) and his associates, support the oppressed and reach out to the competent judicial services to assist the headquarters of the Hezbollah Corps’ representative in Ramadi, and to compare us to Habbaniya and the Al-Qa’im”.

What is happening in al-Anbar does not seem to be far removed from the state of the ongoing power struggle in Baghdad between Al-Halbousi and its Sadrist and Kurdish allies, on the one hand, and between the Sutam Abu Reisha and his factional allies and the coordinating framework on the other.

Most of the powerful forces and tribal elders in Anbar province stood with Speaker Mohamed Al-Halbousi, where Khamis Al-Khanjar, the head of Al-Halbousi’s sovereignty alliance, attacked what he called militia, called for adherence to the law, and wrote in a tweet: “Our people in Anbar have presented the finest heroics in liberation and reconstruction, sacrificing their immaculate blood in order to expel terrorism and its remnants. We will not accept that their security will be tampered with by militia groups”, Sumerian reported.

He added: “We must invoke the law, not a weapon and a mess that will neither build nor preserve the sovereignty of the country, and our official forces and institutions must resolutely deter the abusers”.

The Al Anbar Senate also issued a statement warning against outsiders protecting outlaws within the province, according to the Middle East newspaper.

In a statement, the Council declared its unequivocal rejection of suspicious interventions apparent in the defense of certain wanted judges and in the midst of sedition and the return of terrorism in another dress.

The Council called for urgent intervention by the military and the security forces to close the province in the face of illegal groups operating outside of official conduct and above the law.

There have also been disapproval of a wide spectrum of figures and deputies from al-Anbar province against military movements and statements by Hezbollah battalions against Al-Halbousi and the provincial security and judicial institutions.