Iraqi militia leader says US not serious about fighting Islamic State

Qais al-Khazali says anti-IS campaign had failed because of US agenda to redraw map of Middle East along new borders

NAJAF: The head of one of Iraq's fiercest Shia militias called the US-led coalition's campaign against Islamic State ineffective and accused Washington of lacking the will to uproot radical Sunni extremists controlling large swathes of Iraq and Syria.

Qais al-Khazali, leader of Iranian-backed paramilitary group Asaib Ahl al-Haq, said the anti-IS campaign had failed because of an American agenda to redraw the map of the Middle East along new borders.

"We believe the United States of America does not want to resolve the crisis but rather wants to manage the crisis," he told Reuters in an interview.

"It does not want to end Daesh (Islamic State). It wants to exploit Daesh to achieve its projects in Iraq and in the region. The American project in Iraq is to repartition the region."

Khazali said the US-led coalition had failed to ramp up the number of air strikes over time as he said it had pledged to do.

A military vehicle of the Iraqi security forces is pictured near the University of Anbar, in Anbar province July 28, 2015. PHOTO: REUTERS

Asaib, along with the Badr Brigades and Kataib Hezbollah, are at the forefront of the Popular Mobilisation Committee, or Hashid Shaabi, the official Iraqi government entity organizing volunteers in the battle against Islamic State.

The Hashid Shaabi has become the most powerful military force in Iraq since the near collapse of the national army a year ago. Yet many paramilitary groups have come under fire for alleged abuses in Sunni areas reclaimed from Islamic State.

Khazali said Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi was under US pressure to limit the presence of Shia fighters in the campaign to retake the mostly Sunni province of Anbar from Islamic State.

"Now the American project is trying at least to limit the presence of the Hashid Shaabi to the borders of Fallujah and not reach Ramadi. This is the magnitude of the pressure from the American leadership now on the Iraqi prime minister," he said.

Washington and its Sunni Arab allies fear that involving Iraq's Shia militias in battles to drive out IS militants from Anbar could lead to even more sectarian violence.

The University of Anbar, is seen in Anbar province July 28, 2015. PHOTO: REUTERS

In the past few months, there have been reports of violations including killings, looting and burning of Sunni homes. Khazali denied the accusations.

"Despite the media whirlwind and exaggeration, no media outlet has been able to accuse the Shia Hashid Shaabi of one (act of) genocide or of killing one innocent citizen," he said.

Mutual mistrust

Khazali was among the thousands of militia fighters, armed and wearing green camouflage military fatigues, who flocked to northern Iraq to battle Islamic State last June after it seized swathes of territory across Syria and Iraq.

The 41-year-old Iraqi donned the robe and white turban of a cleric when he spoke to Reuters at his office in the holy Shia city of Najaf.

His militia started as a splinter group of the Mahdi Army, a paramilitary force formed by anti-American Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr during the US occupation. Under his leadership, it gained notoriety for its attacks against US forces.

In 2007, Khazali was arrested by American forces for his alleged role in an attack on an Iraqi government compound in Karbala in the Shia heartland of southern Iraq, which left five American soldiers dead.

He is now one of the most feared and respected Shia militia leaders in Iraq, and one of Iran's most important allies in the country.

Khazali said mutual mistrust made it impossible for his group to coordinate with the United States.

"We do not agree to participate in any area where there are American strikes. We will place full responsibility on the American administration for any strike that happens under the guise of being a mistake," he said.

"The Americans do not trust us because we resisted them during the occupation. There is no prospect (for cooperation)."