Fourth Missile Attack on Camp Liberty – Statement No. 7
Hours after the missile attack on Camp Liberty, which has left three residents killed and more than 50 others wounded so far, Watheq al-Battat, a notorious terrorist, who is merely a functionary of [Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri] al-Maliki, accepted responsibility for this assault.
Using the ridiculous title of “commander of the Al-Mukhtar Army”, this criminal mullah told Reuters news agency that “his group had fired 20 Katyusha rockets and mortar rounds at the camp”.
This is not the first time that Maliki is using Battat’s name to cover up his own crimes. On February 13, 2013, four days after the first missile attack on Camp Liberty, the Iranian Resistance issued a statement which said, “Because it is common knowledge that Kata’eb Hezbollah is a terrorist brainchild of the clerical regime acting in concert with Maliki’s office, the clerical regime and the Iraqi government in an attempt to cover their tracks resorted to a new ploy by fabricating a new self-styled group named ‘Jaish al-Mukhtar’ in a bid to cleanse their hands tainted in this crime…. ‘Jaish al-Mukhtar’ is another name for ‘Kata’eb Hezbollah’, which continues to carry out the dirty and bloody conspiracies of Ali Khamenei and Maliki.”
According to Iraqi media, Jaish al-Mukhtar declared its founding only five days before the first missile attack on Camp Liberty on February 9, 2013. It boasted, “The Mukhtar Army is supportive of the central government in fighting corruption and corruptors as well as in confronting terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Free Army.” Several hours later, the group staged a military parade at the Sana’a Club in Baghdad, where the Iraqi Amy and Police were giving it protection.
According to Arab-language media such as Al-Hayat, As-Sharq al-Awsat and Ilaf, Mukhtar is a symbolic reference to Maliki. On February 11, 2013, the Saudi Daily As-Sharq al-Awsat wrote, “The Mukhtar Army has been formed in support of the Iraqi government to establish security control. Groups affiliated to Maliki describe him as ‘Mukhtar of the Age.’”
On July 8, 2013, Iraq’s Al-Tagheer television broadcast a video in which Battat was saying, “We must save the Iraqi government and its institutions and abide by orders.” He emphasized, “His party is supporting the government with all its power because it has facilitated their passage to Syria.”
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
December 27, 2013