In a recent feature item on the kidnapping of Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov in Iraq, ABC News counted more than 170 attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq, Syria and Jordan (the Jordan incident being the one that killed three U.S. personnel) since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on 7 October. In so far as these attacks have been claimed and identified, the vast majority if not all of them can be traced to Iranian-backed armed groups operating in Iraq, in particular the groups operating under the umbrella of the 'Islamic Resistance in Iraq' (Kata'ib Hezbollah, Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada', Harakat al-Nujaba' and Ansar Allah al-Awfiya').
Yet it is to be noted that the last time that the 'Islamic Resistance in Iraq' claimed an operation against U.S. forces was on 4 February, more than a month ago: in that case, targeting the Americans stationed in Syria. In a statement on 9 February, the 'Islamic Resistance in Iraq' denounced U.S. retaliatory strikes in Iraq that most notably killed Kata'ib Hezbollah official Abu Baqir al-Sa'adi (who was involved in targeting U.S. forces in Iraq during the period of the U.S. presence in 2003-2011), saying that the American retaliation would only make the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq, in its publicly declared factions, more committed to its responsibilities towards its people, country and Ummah, whatever the circumstances." The statement further called on "brothers in jihad to join the ranks of the resistance, in that they should be determined to actually participate in expelling the occupation at this historical stage for Iraq and the region."
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