By Anas al-Bar | 2023-11-23

Iran-backed militias in eastern Syria have been on alert since mid-November, when US forces launched several rounds of retaliatory strikes on them in response to a series of attacks on US and international coalition forces.

In response to the US strikes, Iran-affiliated armed groups have repositioned their fighters and weapons, moving them into areas east of the Euphrates River adjacent to the border with Iraq, local sources said.

Over the last few weeks, buses carrying dozens of Iran-aligned Iraqi militiamen have crossed over into Syria from Iraq through the Albu Kamal and al-Hari border crossings, sources with the Eye of the Euphrates network said.

This movement was conducted under the supervision of officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), they told Al-Fassel, with IRGC-controlled militias moving more fighters into the area to reenforce their presence.

Militiamen trained by Iranian IRGC officers in the desert around al-Mayadeen have been deployed to several locations in Deir Ezzor province, they said.

The militias have taken over some houses in residential neighborhoods of Deir Ezzor to use as barracks, meeting places and military posts, and to store weapons or launch short-range surface-to-surface missiles, per some reports.

Many local residents have been forced to leave their neighborhoods in these areas out of fear that the militias will use them as human shields.

Militias have been patrolling the area to monitor movement in the streets and markets, in a show of force aimed at increasing their influence and gaining more control in Deir Ezzor, local sources said.

Provocative attacks

US and international coalition interests in Syria and Iraq have been faced with a volley of provocative attacks carried out by Iranian proxies, against the backdrop of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

US forces deployed in Iraq and Syria have been attacked more than 55 times since mid-October, causing minor injuries to dozens of US troops, the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) said Friday (November 17).

Between October 19 and November 12, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented 29 attacks carried out by Iran-backed militias on international coalition bases in different areas across Syria.

These included six attacks on al-Tanf garrison in southern Syria; five attacks on al-Omar oil field and four attacks on Koniko gas field, in Deir Ezzor province; and an attack on Rubarya on the outskirts of al-Malikiyah, the Observatory said.

They also included five attacks on Kharab al-Jair base in al-Rumailan, six attacks on al-Shaddadi base, one attack on Tal Baidar base in al-Hasakeh province and an attack on Qasrak base, it said.

The so-called "Islamic Resistance in Iraq," a front for an alliance comprising Iran-backed Iraqi militias, has claimed responsibility for several of the attacks, including those recently carried out in Syria.

In a Saturday statement released on Telegram, Kataib Hizbullah spokesman Abu Ali al-Askari said attacks by the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" were part of a "strategy of attrition."

'Operations rooms'

Eye of the Euphrates confirms that Iranian proxies have established an operations room "to direct military activities" in Deir Ezzor.

This is the second operations room the IRGC has established since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War on October 7, after Hamas staged a deadly terrorist attack on Israel.

The first operations room was established in Lebanon on October 10, according to an announcement by the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq."

In a November 4 report, Eye of the Euphrates said the IRGC had recruited dozens of local fighters for its militias in the area east of the Euphrates River.

Since September, the report said, the IRGC has been giving these militiamen intensive training on the use of machine guns and teaching them how to plant improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The IRGC is increasingly relying on the new recruits to launch missile strikes, the network said, noting that according to its sources, a secret meeting was held in mid-October between leaders of Syrian groups and IRGC officials.

The objective of this meeting was to figure out how to carry out new attacks without coming under retaliatory fire, sources said.

Sanctions on Kataib Hizbullah

The United States unveiled sanctions Friday against seven people it said were affiliated with pro-Iranian militias in Iraq responsible for recent attacks on its military bases in the region.

The US Treasury said it had sanctioned six individuals affiliated with Kataib Hizbullah as well as the leader of another pro-Iranian group in Iraq that Washington said also was involved in attacks against US troops.

The Treasury said Kataib Hizbullah was trained, funded and supported by Iran's IRGC and "is behind a spate of recent attacks against the United States and partners in Iraq and Syria following the horrific attacks by Hamas against Israel."

Attacks on southern Israel launched on October 7 by the Iran-backed Palestinian terrorist group killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.

In Iraq, observers have warned about the growing involvement of Iraqi armed groups in hostilities against US forces, on both Iraqi and Syrian soil.

This is a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, interests and national laws that prohibit the use of Iraqi soil as a launch pad for endangering the region, they said.

"The Iraqi government must take the necessary measures to rein in Iran's proxies, stemming from its keenness to prevent the country from sliding into a dangerous regional conflict," military expert Ayad al-Tufan told Al-Fassel.

"The US forces are present at the request of Iraq, and Baghdad is responsible for providing security for them," he said.

Al-Tufan stressed the need to "stand firmly against all [Iranian] proxies and obstruct their activities and movements, as they provoke escalation, and exploit tensions to sow chaos."