Kata’ib Hezbollah backs weapons handover to Iraqi state, offers to handle advanced arms
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group Kata’ib Hezbollah on Saturday welcomed efforts by armed factions to surrender their weapons to the state, offering to assume responsibility of specialized military equipment and even pay for them, as Baghdad continues negotiations aimed at bringing weapons under state control.
In a statement, Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, the spokesperson and senior security official of the powerful armed group, praised what he described as a decision by “[armed] brothers not involved in the Islamic Resistance [of Iraq]” to end their armed activities and hand over their weapons.
Assaf said the move would help “confine weapons to the hands of the state and enhance security, stability, and civil peace,” proposing coordination with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) command to oversee the handover process and provide “facilities and guidance” for the transfer of arms.
The statement comes as the government of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi continues indirect talks with several Iran-aligned armed groups aimed at restricting weapons to state control.
Officials from the ruling Shiite Coordination Framework told Rudaw earlier this week that “indirect” discussions are underway with three to four factions operating outside the PMF structure, with a final agreement expected after the Eid al-Adha holiday, which was celebrated between Wednesday and Saturday.
Among the measures outlined in the proposal, Kata’ib Hezbollah offered to take possession of weapons that require specialized expertise to operate.
Assaf said they are ready to “receive certain specialized weapons for which the state apparatus lacks specialists, such as drones, loitering munitions [suicide drones], cruise missiles, anti-armor weapons, and others.”
He added that the group was also prepared to purchase the weapons, stating, “We are also prepared to pay for them.”
The proposal also included overseeing the inventory, transportation and storage of surrendered weapons, as well as support for “the families of the martyrs and the wounded of those groups, as well as the mujahideen whose services will no longer be required.”
Concluding the statement, Assaf said Kata’ib Hezbollah respected the decision of groups choosing to lay down their arms.
“We affirm that we disassociate ourselves from anyone who has insulted or insults any group or faction that decided in the past, present, or will decide in the future to leave jihadi work,” he said, adding that the group “praise[s] the relinquishing of their weapons in favor of the state.”
The latest remarks also mark a shift from the position previously expressed by Saraya Awliya al-Dam (Guardians of the Blood Brigades), a shadowy armed group operating under the banner of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI). On Saturday, the group rejected surrendering its weapons, with spokesperson Abu Mahdi al-Jaafari saying, “There will be no surrender of weapons and no talk of reassurance before the injustice is lifted and the [American] occupation of Iraq comes to an end.”
Saraya Awliya al-Dam was among the factions that claimed responsibility for attacks on alleged US targets in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region during the six-week Iran-Israel war, including drone strikes targeting Erbil International Airport and other American-linked facilities.
The IRI, which emerged after the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, is widely believed to include several powerful Iran-aligned Iraqi factions, including Kata’ib Hezbollah, Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada.
In early April, the umbrella group claimed responsibility for more than 750 attacks against alleged US-linked targets in Iraq and the wider region since the start of the Iran war, though such attacks have sharply declined in recent weeks.