In a surprise move, an Iran-linked militia in Iraq that the Pentagon said was likely responsible for a lethal drone attack on a US base in Jordan over the weekend announced on Tuesday that it was suspending military operations in Iraq under pressure from the Iraqi government and from Iran.

The announcement came shortly after President Joe Biden said that he had decided how to respond to the attack in Jordan on Sunday that left three US soldiers dead, though he did not say what that response would be. His comment raised fears in Iraq about a possibly retaliatory US attack on its territory.

The militia, Kata’ib Hezbollah, or Brigades of the Party of God, is the largest and most established of the Iran-linked groups operating in Iraq. It has spearheaded a majority of the some 160 attacks on US military installations in Iraq and Syria that have occurred since Israel began its ground operations in Gaza, acting in response to the October 7 attack Hamas led from the enclave.

The US military has about 2,500 troops in Iraq.

New York Times News Service