Kataib Hezbollah Rules Out Disarmament Until Resistance Goals Achieved

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A Kataib Hezbollah security official said the group and allied resistance factions have no intention of laying down their weapons until all objectives are fulfilled. Abu Mihacid al-Asaf, the group's security official, said decisions on weapons surrender or restructuring of armed formations remain a private matter for the parties involved. Groups that surrender weapons do not belong in the resistance ranks, he added. Reuters reported that Kataib Hezbollah, the Karbala Battalions and four other resistance groups intend to retain their weapons until foreign forces complete their withdrawal from Iraq. Major General Sa'd Muin, head of the Security Media Cell, said the first steps toward integrating armed groups into the official security structure have begun. No further details were immediately available.