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Iran’s shadow war in Iraq

When Army Gen. Lloyd Austin left Iraq in 2011, as the last U.S. combat troops withdrew themselves from almost a decade of war, he offered a somber warning to the local forces who would stay behind. Iraq was then under the leadership of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite Muslim. Austin observed that the country’s […]

Paul D. Shinkman writes for US News and World Report:

When Army Gen. Lloyd Austin left Iraq in 2011, as the last U.S. combat troops withdrew themselves from almost a decade of war, he offered a somber warning to the local forces who would stay behind. Iraq was then under the leadership of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite Muslim. Austin observed that the country’s leaders "don't see an enormous threat from Iran at this point,” despite what he considered a "stream of lethal accelerants" flowing across the border from Iran into Iraq.

Along with the continued threat posed by al-Qaida, Austin warned about three “Iran-backed” Shiite extremist groups that had sought out American targets during the Iraq War. Kataib Hezbollah – believed to be linked to militant Lebanese political party Hezbollah – Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the Promised Day Brigades would create problems in Iraq if left unchecked and continually allowed to receive “a sharp increase” in arms coming from Iran.