Soleimani's Death Likely To Strengthen Islamic State - Ex-White House Aide

Soleimani's Death Likely to Strengthen Islamic State - Ex-White House Aide

The US targeted assassination of Iran's top commander will likely boost the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) and Shia militia factions inside Iraq, former White House National Security Council Adviser Gwenyth Todd told Sputnik

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th January, 2020) The US targeted assassination of Iran's top commander will likely boost the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) and Shia militia factions inside Iraq, former White House National Security Council Adviser Gwenyth Todd told Sputnik.

Trump administration officials will brief lawmakers later on Tuesday on so-called intelligence that Qesem Soleimani, former head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds force, had been plotting attacks on Americans. Some lawmakers briefed on the materials do not believe there was an imminent threat to US interests to justify authorizing the drone strike that killed Soleimani near the Baghdad airport on January 3.

"ISIS [IS] can only benefit from Soleimani's killing thanks to the false hope created among non-Shia and the inevitable retaliation against them by Iran-backed Shia militias," Todd, who served as a middle East adviser for the Clinton administration, said. "ISIS will be strengthened but so will the Iranian militias."

Shortly after Soleimani's death, the Baghdad government praised the Iranian commander's role in fighting IS, while the Iraqi parliament voted to expel US-led coalition forces from the country.

Todd said Iraqi Sunnis might hope the United States helps protect them against growing Shia and Iranian dominance. However, when Sunnis inevitably discover the Trump administration is not prepared to defend them, IS recruiting numbers will almost certainly go up among moderates, she said.

"Non-Shia Iraqis... feel that they are in serious trouble and are fighting back. In such a situation, the line between ISIS and normal oppositionists becomes blurred," the former White House adviser added.

Thousands of people across Iran have been taking to the streets in recent days to publicly mourn Soleimani's death. Tehran, meanwhile, has pledged to avenge the assassination.