Iran-backed Iraq factions say no arms timeline binds them

Iran-backed armed factions in Iraq said Wednesday they were "not bound by any timeline or agreement" to surrender their weapons, as the Iraqi government seeks to disarm them under mounting US pressure.

Jaafar al-Husseini, a military spokesman for Kataeb Hezbollah, said at an event marking the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces that the factions had been in talks on "regulating" their weapons but had not yet received a response from the Iraqi government.

"Based on this, the Islamic Resistance declares that it is not bound by any timetable or agreement that any governmental or political party has spoken of or may speak of," he said.