On April 8, Usbat al-Tha’ireen (UT), a newly-formed Iraqi armed group, released a new video, threatening U.S. forces in the country.
The first part of the video includes aerial footage, apparently shoot by a small drone, of the Ain Assad Air Base near the capital Baghdad, where hundreds of U.S.-led coalition troops are deployed. The footage shows many U.S. cargo planes and helicopters parked in the base.
The video’s second part shows a U.S. C-130 cargo plane taking off from Ain Assad. The footage was apparently taken by an UT operative driving near the air base.
Earlier this month, the group released a similar propaganda video featuring aerial footage of the U.S. embassy in the Iraqi capital.
Both UT’s videos ended with the same message: “our eyes are observing their movements … They will not get what they want.
The mysterious group was behind the March 11 rocket attack on Camp Taji, which claimed the lives of three U.S.-led coalition service members.
UT’s recent videos proves that the group has strong presence on the ground in Iraq and not just a propaganda stunt. Yet, the group could be affiliated with pro-Iran Shiite factions in Iraq, such as Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH).
