Faction leader says response to US-Saudi strikes is still ‘on the table’

BAGHDAD — A response to last month’s U.S. and Saudi airstrikes “remains on the table,” the head of Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada said Saturday, a day after Iran-aligned factions called off an attack planned for Friday, and he said the delay came at the request of Coordination Framework leaders.

Abu Alaa al-Walaei wrote on X that “reconsidering the timing, scale and nature of the response remains on the table,” calling it “an ideological and national duty” backed by fighters and the families of those killed and wounded. He said the postponement had been sought by leaders of the Coordination Framework, including Badr Organization leader Hadi al-Amiri, and by several independent politicians, and urged Iraqi officials to use the pause “to restore Iraq’s rights in a manner proportionate to the damage inflicted on our country and people.”

Amiri had released a video that morning urging the factions to hold off in Iraq’s higher national interest, saying the rights of the dead and wounded would be pursued through diplomatic means.

Walaei leads one of three factions that have refused to join the government’s plan to bring weapons under state control by Sept. 30. He is also a member of the Coordination Framework, the Shia alliance that holds a parliamentary majority.

The U.S. State Department offered a reward of up to $10 million for information on him in April.

U.S. and Saudi aircraft struck Popular Mobilization Forces sites in Baghdad, Wasit, Nineveh, Basra, Kirkuk, Karbala and Diyala in late July, killing at least 20 members and wounding 32, according to the force.  U.S. Central Command said the strikes hit weapons-storage and logistics sites linked to Iran-backed groups after more than 30 drone attacks it attributed to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.