The Iraqi armed group Kataeb Hezbollah has pledged to keep up its “jihadist action”, as Baghdad faces mounting US pressure to disarm factions in favour of Iran, AFP reports.

Following the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran at the end of February, groups operating under the banner of the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” carried out repeated drone and rocket attacks on US interests in the country. Washington, in turn, bombed facilities and bases belonging to the groups, including Kataeb Hezbollah, killing dozens of their members.

Kataeb Hezbollah security chief Abu Mujahid al-Assaf says in a statement, “Jihadist action is today a collective duty, and we will carry it out on behalf of the brothers who have decided to abandon it.”