Iraq has been caught in the crossfire of the regional war by waves of attacks on both US interests and Iran-linked militias in the first days of the conflict.
Since US-Israeli attacks on Iran began on Saturday, several Iran-backed militants in Iraq have entered the conflict and launched a series of drone strikes at US bases in Baghdad and the Kurdish capital Erbil.
“The Iraqi government is very concerned about these groups but can do little to stop them. They have cruise missiles, short-range ballistic missiles and drones,” Lahib Higel, a senior Iraq expert at the Crisis Group, told The National.
“It has taken years to improve relations with Gulf countries and the region but these attacks present a setback."
Iraq's Kurdistan Region has been subjected to more than 110 missile and drone attacks. Some material damage was caused but no casualties have been reported, a Kurdish Iraqi official told The National.
They said it is believed that some of these attacks have originated directly from Iran, aimed at US military bases in the northern region. But they said the central government Baghdad is yet to take any “sufficient or visible action to address these repeated violations against the country”.
In the other direction, air raids began on Saturday against militia bases in the town of Jurf Al Sakhar, also known as Jurf Al Nasr, about 60km south-west of Baghdad. At least two fighters were killed and five others wounded in these attacks, which have been blamed on the US and Israel.
Matters came to a head when an Iraqi soldier was killed in a mysterious incident in the desert involving foreign forces, as a general revealed on Thursday night.
Investigating a disturbance in the Najaf desert, Iraqi troops came under "heavy aerial fire" in which one soldier was killed and two were injured, Lt Gen Qais Al Muhammadawi said.
The next morning, two counter-terrorism units were sent to the scene but found nothing. The general said it appeared a "certain force" had been present without approval, setting up equipment.
He did not say which force, but said a protest note would be sent to the US-led coalition that operates in Iraq and Syria to fight ISIS. Kurdish media outlet Rudaw reported that the troops involved were American.
After the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hundreds of Iraqi supporters of Iran, many dressed in black, attempted to storm Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, where the US embassy is located. Clashes occurred between Iraqi security forces and protesters.
Since then the militias have been carrying out attacks on a daily basis against US troops in Iraq and the region.
Iraqi forces shot down a drone that attempted to attack a US military base near Baghdad International Airport on Thursday in the latest attack on American interests.
Videos footage shared on social media showed a drone crash in the Al Buaitha area of Baghdad in the presence of security personnel.
It came as the entire country has been affected by a power cut, because of a technical fault on Wednesday, according to the electricity ministry.
Who are the militias targeting?
The operations for these militias are co-ordinated under the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella for pro-Tehran armed groups.
The backbone of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq consists of three groups: Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat Al Nujaba and Kataib Sayyed Al Shuhada militias.
There are also smaller militias such as Saraya Awliya Al Dam, Kataib Sarkhat Al Quds, Harakat Ansar Allah Al Awfiya, and Al Thawriyyun.
These groups have previously attacked US troops in Iraq and Syria as well as targets inside Israel after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 that prompted the Gaza war.
Their main targets are the Harir Air Base in the north that houses US troops and the US consulate in Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq, as well as a logistics hub at Baghdad International Airport which is used by US troops.
Iran has built and supported these groups for its own interest only, said Bente Scheller, head of the Middle East and North Africa Division at the Heinrich Boll Foundation.
These militias “do not act in favour of either the states in which they operate, but only on Iran's behalf, even if harmful for both the population as well as the context they find themselves in,” Ms Scheeler told The National.
“Iraq, which in recent years became more stable finally, is at risk of losing these achievements now, less by direct attacks on Iraqi institutions but more by provoking an American response,” she said.
On Wednesday, the group Saraya Awliya Al Dam claimed for the first time an attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, near Azraq in eastern Jordan, which became a key hub for US military and attack aircraft in the war.
The same day, Kuwait summoned Iraq’s charge d’affaires to deliver a formal protest against attacks it said were launched by Iran-backed militias against Kuwaiti territory a day earlier.
The militias have come under attack across different parts of the country. The strikes have killed and injured several fighters. The Kataib Hezbollah group mourned a senior leader whose car was hit by a strike south of Baghdad on Wednesday.
Baghdad under pressure
In recent months, the US and other western states have increased pressure on Baghdad to rein in militias that operate outside of the state control. “Iraq has found itself under pressure from different sides in the current war,” Ms Scheller said.
Security forces foiled an attempt to launch rockets at a neighbouring country in Basra province, south of Iraq, late on Wednesday. The plot was uncovered in the Salili area of Al Zubair district in southern Basra, a senior security source told the Iraqi News Agency.
The operation was carried out based on intelligence provided by Iraq's National Security Service, in co-ordination with Basra Operations Command, he added.
