SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraq’s Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Friday some parties are seeking to undermine security in Iraq, amid the continuity of attacks on bases hosting U.S.-led Coalition troops.
“There are parties that want to disturb security in Iraq for many reasons,” Sadr said in a tweet, adding that some “unruly militias” attack U.S. forces in the country aiming to delay or cancel elections.
Early parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 10.
“Oh proud people of Iraq! Are we not enough for war, murder, displacement and bombing?” Sadr stated. “… So come to a comprehensive peace without weapons or violence, so that we can live in the confines of our homeland without foreign agendas.”
“There are no religious or ideological conflicts … We are all brothers in Iraq and we all have recruited soldiers for the homeland, and we are all equal in Iraq.”
Sadr’s comments come as Iraqi military bases housing U.S.-led Coalition troops have been targeted by rockets in the past months.
On Thursday, at least three rockets landed in the perimeter of Baghdad international airport without causing casualties.
Iraqi officials told Reuters that the rockets landed near the area of the airport which houses U.S. forces.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but armed groups that some Iraqi officials have said are backed by Iran have claimed similar incidents in the past.
U.S. officials blame Iran-backed militias for regular rocket attacks on U.S. facilities in Iraq, including near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad
