By Al-Fassel | 2023-12-29

An attack claimed by the so-called Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a group of Iran-backed militias such as Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Hizbullah, on US forces in Syria on Tuesday (December 26) missed its target and killed and injured innocent civilians.

Various sources in the region, including the North Press Agency, reported that an elderly man in his 70s was killed in the attack, and that a young boy had also been injured.

The militants attempted to hit US forces based in al-Shaddadi in the south of al-Hasakeh province, northeastern Syria.

US forces in Syria are operating as part of the ongoing mission to root out "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) militants in the region.

Such attacks against coalition forces, which happen frequently from Iran-backed militants, undermine efforts against ISIS and cause civilian casualties and damage to properties.

A tally by US military officials has counted over 100 attacks against its troops in Iraq and Syria since October 17, most of which have been claimed by the so-called Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

Most of the time US forces do not respond to such attacks, but sometimes the US military deems it necessary and responds proportionately to protect its military personnel and bases.

On Monday, Kataib Hizbullah in Iraq carried out a drone attack against US forces in Erbil, and the US military struck back.

"US military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by Kataib Hizbullah and affiliated groups in Iraq," US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

"These precision strikes are a response to a series of attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias... and intended to disrupt and degrade capabilities of the Iran-aligned militia groups directly responsible," he said.

The Monday attack led to three injuries to US personnel, leaving one in critical condition, the statement added.

On December 3, a US air strike killed five Iraqi members of an Iran-backed militia near the northern city of Kirkuk as they prepared to launch explosive projectiles at US forces, according to Reuters.

In late November, US forces targeted Kataib Hizbullah locations two days in a row after the militants launched a close-range ballistic missile against US and coalition forces at Ain al-Assad air base.

US fighter jets on November 22 "conducted discrete, precision strikes against two facilities in Iraq," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X.

Kataib Hizbullah said the strikes killed eight of its fighters.

On November 21, an AC-130 gunship "engaged individuals responsible for launching a missile attack on US and coalition personnel at al-Assad Airbase, Iraq," CENTCOM said on X.

Negative effects on locals, sovereignty

Indiscriminate attacks such as the one carried out in Syria, in which poorly trained militants launch unguided rockets in the general direction of targets, resulting in innocent civilian casualties, have been common in recent years in the region.

In 2021, Iran-backed militias in Iraq carried out dozens of attacks across the country, targeting airports, air bases and diplomatic areas in Baghdad, among other targets. The attacks left many Iraqi civilians dead and damaged an untold number of houses, businesses and infrastructure.

In 2022, Iran-linked militias launched a barrage of rockets at Baghdad airport, destroying a runway and two civilian planes.

And this year, Iran-backed militias attempted to hit US and coalition forces in northeast Syria in March, but instead missed and hit homes 5km away, wounding women and children.

As one analyst put it, Kataib Hizbullah, and by extension most if not all Iran-backed militants in the region, is "a disorderly armed force that considers itself above the state and the law."

Sources say the US strikes in November hit Jurf al-Sakhr, an area that many observers call an operational base run by Iran-backed militants.

The Jurf al-Sakhr area, located north of Babil province in Iraq, is considered one of the most prominent areas under the control of armed militias loyal to Iran since its liberation from ISIS in 2014.

The militias that control Jurf al-Sakhr have prevented its residents from returning, and are accused of turning the area into an operational headquarters, ammunition stores and large prisons, as confirmed by some politicians' statements, according to Al-Arabiya.

This follows a pattern as across the Middle East, Iran-backed militant groups are using civilians as human shields and exploiting civilian infrastructure, such as hospitals, to store weapons and explosives.

Between 2014 and 2017, Iraqi forces liberated other areas around Jurf al-Sakhr from ISIS, but pro-Iran militias such as Kataib Hizbullah, Harakat al-Nujaba and Asaib Ahl al-Haq have since sought to establish their dominance.

Earlier in the year, reports said that these armed groups were blocking residents' entry to these areas, under the pretext that they had not been cleared of the remnants of war and that the militias were there to maintain security and to prevent the return of extremist elements.

It is an open secret that Iran-backed militias have established military bases in the Jurf al-Sakhr area, observers say.

Iran-affiliated militias are accused of turning the towns they control into military assets that they keep under heavy guard.

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.