Iraqi armed groups dial down attacks on US troops

BAGHDADD, Feb 18 (Reuters): A visit by the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force to Baghdad has led to a pause in attacks on US troops by Iran-aligned groups in Iraq, multiple Iranian and Iraqi sources told Reuters, saying it was a sign Tehran wants to prevent a broader conflict.
Esmail Qaani met representatives of several of the armed groups in Baghdad airport on Jan 29, less than 48 hours after Washington blamed the groups for the killing of three US soldiers at the Tower 22 outpost in Jordan, the sources said.
Qaani, whose predecessor was killed by a US drone near the same airport four years ago, told the factions that drawing American blood risked a heavy US response, 10 of the sources said.
He said the militias should lie low, to avoid US strikes on their senior commanders, destruction of key infrastructure or even a direct retaliation against Iran, the sources said.
He said the militias should lie low, to avoid US strikes on their senior commanders, destruction of key infrastructure or even a direct retaliation against Iran, the sources said.
While one faction did not initially agree to Qaani's request, most others did. The next day, elite Iran-backed group Kataib Hezbollah announced it was suspending attacks.
Since Feb 4 there have been no attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria, compared to more than 20 in the two weeks before Qaani's visit, part of a surge in violence from the groups in opposition to Israel's war in Gaza.
"Without Qaani's direct intervention it would have been impossible to convince Kataib Hezbollah to halt its military operations to deescalate the tension", a senior commander in one of the Iran-aligned Iraqi armed groups said.
Qaani and the Quds Force, the arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards that works with allied armed groups from Lebanon to Yemen, did not immediately reply to requests for comment for this story. Kataib Hezbollah and one other group could not be reached for comment.