An Iraq-based, Iran-backed militant group suspected of participating in the drone strike that killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan announced it was suspending attacks on U.S. military installations in Iraq and Syria.
Abu Hussein Al-Hamidawi, secretary-general of Kataib Hezbollah, said the militia’s fighters would adopt a “temporary passive defense” and warned against “hostile American action.” His group, also called the Hezbollah Brigades, is the strongest among a collection of Iran-backed militias known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI).
Pressure from Iran and Iraq, which felt the faction had gone too far, prompted Kataib Hezbollah to stand down, Reuters reported. The Pentagon had pointed to the group as the likely perpetrator of the deadly drone strike.
The White House said Wednesday it blames the IRI for the attack, and President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he had decided on a military response but provided no details.