PMU factions reluctant to target US interests in Iraq directly
Following the assassinations of Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Shiite armed factions are reluctant to engage in direct war with the United States due to the lack of military balance between them and their fear of US reactions.
Five missiles targeted the US Embassy in Baghdad Jan. 27, with one missile striking the inside of the reinforced embassy in the Iraqi government’s Green Zone.
It is not unusual for missiles to fall near the surroundings of the embassy. But this attack was different in that it targeted the inside of the embassy’s restaurant and hit five people whose nationalities and occupations remain unknown. Oddly, armed Shiite factions rushed to deny involvement in the operation.
