Who is Islamic Resistance of Iraq

Al-Muqawama al-Islamiyah fi al-Iraq (the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, muqawama meaning resistance) Islamic Resistance in Iraq is a term used to describe the operations of all Iran-backed militias in Iraq, including strikes into Syria and Israel during the October 2023 conflict between Israel and Hamas. In response to Israel’s large-scale attacks on Gaza Strip, armed Iraqi factions aligned with Iran have pursued tens of attacks on military bases hosting United States forces in Iraq and Syria under the name of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. Who is this group and their goal? Islamic Resistance in Iraq vowed to expel US troops and anti U.S. targets in Iraq and Syria, coming from the U.S. role in the Gaza crisis. “The Iraqi Islamic Resistance decided to liberate Iraq militarily; this matter has been settled, blessed be the Mujahideen. There will be no stopping, no ceasefire, and no retreat,“ Akram Al-Kaabi, leader of the Iran-backed militia Harakat al-Nujaba, said on 1 November in a post on the X platform, previously known as Twitter. He also threatened that the next phase of attacks would be “greater“. Immediately, Ashab Al-Kahaf, another Iraqi militia that had announced multiple drone and missile attacks targeting bases hosting US forces in Iraq, joined Al-Kaabi’s call to fight against the US and the coalition forces in Iraq. AK is the oldest of the current militia facade groups, first appearing in 2019 and remaining continually active ever since. Specialization of Ashab Al-Kahaf is domestic (Iraq-focused) counter-U.S. operations. Since 17 October, Iraqi militias claimed responsibility for several Katyusha rocket and drone attacks on at least three US bases in Iraq and another US base in Syria, announcing the end of a year-long fragile ceasefire as a direct consequence of Washington’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza. Who is behind the Islamic Resistance in Iraq? The balance of available evidence suggests that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps plays a role in coordinating the Islamic Resistance in Iraq brand. Iraqi armed groups tend to jealously guard their individual identities and the credit they derive (directly or via facade groups linked to them) from attacks, so their willingness to submerge these identities and even recant an individual group attack claim suggests that a higher power is coordinating them. “The Islamic Resistance in Iraq“ is an umbrella brand matching the nomenclature that all Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups have previously used to describe themselves, often as the prefix to their specific group names. Moreover, top groups such as Kataib Hezbollah (KH) have not made separate or competing claims for attacks in their typical areas of operations. Therefore, it is highly likely that groups like KH, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada consider themselves part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq brand. Targeting USA bases On the night of November 9-10, pro-Iranian groups launched several kamikaze UAVs of the Samad, Murad-5 and Qasef-2K families, as well as an Aqsa-1 ballistic missile in the direction of US military facilities in provinces of Ninewa and Anbar. One of the drones hit a fuel and lubricants warehouse on the territory of the Al-Harir location; no casualties were reported. Pentagon reported that 56 American soldiers were wounded in more than 46 attacks against US bases in Iraq and Syria as of November 9,2023. The United States has some 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq as part of efforts to combat the Islamic State (ISIS), which once held significant territory in both countries but was pushed back by local forces supported by international air strikes. The US has also treated the attacks with extreme secrecy, to avoid the repercussions of admitting real losses in these attacks. Pentagon has released a video of U.S. airstrike on November 9,2023, which was carried out by two F-15Es, was intended to send a message to Tehran that it should instruct the militias it supports to cease their attacks A declassified video from a U.S. drone that was released Nov. 9 shows the target was a weapons storage facility at Maysulun, Syria as per Pentagon used by the Iranian-backed militias. “If the attacks against our forces don’t decrease or stop, we will take additional measures,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Israel was also targeted On 2 November 2023, Telegram channels affiliated with Iran-backed militias disseminated a declaration from the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, in which they took credit for an assault on a strategically “significant Israeli target“ located along the shores of the Dead Sea in a show of solidarity with our fellow compatriots in Gaza and in response to the attacks of Israel on the Gaza Strip. Like the video and subscribe to our channel. Thank you Thank you for watching.