US war on Iraq behind Paris carnage: Venezuela

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro says the recent deadly terror attacks in Paris stem from the United States’ invasion of Iraq over a decade ago.

He made the comments in a televised speech on Monday, condemning the string of attacks on November 13 in the French capital, which were claimed by the Daesh Takfiri terror group. The attacks killed more than 130 people and injured 350 others.

The Venezuelan leader further said that the extremist group was created as a result of Washington’s intervention in countries like Iraq and Libya.

A Venezuelan national was killed and another injured in Paris attacks, Maduro added, without giving the identities of the victims.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Maduro once again voiced his support for Syrian President Bashar Assad and stressed that his ouster would lead to a rise in terrorism that makes the attacks in France look “like a babe in arms.”

Shortly after the assaults, Assad said in a meeting with a delegation of French lawmakers in the Syrian capital of Damascus that “mistaken policies” adopted by Paris have contributed to the “spread of terrorism” that led to the terror attacks in the European country.

The Syrian president said that he had warned “what would happen in Europe for the past three years” if its leaders continued with their policies but his warnings were not heeded.

Daesh terrorists, who were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the government in Damascus, now control parts of Syria and Iraq. They have been engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control.

The Takfiri extremists in new footage posted on Monday said countries taking part in airstrikes against the group in Syria would see similar attacks like what happened in France, and threatened to attack Washington.

In an address to the French parliament on the same day, French President Francois Hollande said his administration would expand the French military’s airstrikes against Daesh in Syria.

He said the coordinated attacks on a number of venues in Paris originated from Syria, where Daesh is present. Hollande said France would hit back at the terrorist group “without mercy.”