Report about 'Desert Phantoms' Military Force Stirs Debate in Iraqhttps://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3432661/report-about-desert-phantoms-military-force-stirs-debate-iraq
Report about 'Desert Phantoms' Military Force Stirs Debate in Iraq
Iraqi parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi at the parliament in Baghdad. (AFP)
A vague report about the formation of a new military force in Iraq that is loyal to parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi has sparked fierce debate among Sunnis in the country.
The report, which was widely circulated on social media, said the "Desert Phantoms" was formed of Iraqis from the western provinces. They have been trained by American forces and were carefully selected based on their political loyalty to Halbousi's Taqaddum coalition.
The report claimed the force has been tasked with protecting the headquarters of Sunni parties and blocs in Baghdad from attacks that they have recently come under. The force is seeking to deploy in Baghdad to protect party and political headquarters.
Halbousi slammed the report, tweeting that people will "no longer fall for the policy of intimidation, led by a handful of mercenaries, that is aimed at stirring unrest and spreading rumors."
A source close to the speaker suspected that armed factions were behind the report.
The report is part of systematic attempts to spread panic in the country, he told local media on Sunday.
"The Desert Phantoms are a fabrication aimed at deceiving naive people and leading them to believe that a sectarian group of thugs is deployed in the desert. This is ridiculous," he added.
He did, however, express his concern over the hidden intentions behind the spread of such rumors. He suspected that armed groups "active outside the authority of the state" would exploit the situation to "spark terror among the people of Iraq to cover for their suspicious plots."
Head of the Sahwat al-Iraq, Ahmad Abu Risha said the report is aimed at excluding the Taqaddum coalition from the new government.
"The Desert Phantoms is the latest lie to target the destroyed provinces," he tweeted, in reference to the provinces of al-Anbar, Salaheddine and Nineveh that were occupied by the ISIS terrorist group.
"The lie has been used for petty political goals and interests with the aim of intimidating entire blocs from taking part in the new national majority government," he added.
"Those with ill intentions must know that we do not believe in the state of militias and gangs, but we believe in a state that is ruled by justice and is protected by its brave army," he stressed.
The recently formed alliance between Moqtada al-Sadr, Halbousi and Masoud Barzani to form the national majority government did not sit well with the Coordination Framework, which is mainly comprised of pro-Iran factions.
The Framework is seeking to obstruct government formation efforts in an attempt to revert to the old way of forming cabinets through various alliances.
The pro-Iran factions had emerged as the major losers in the October parliamentary elections, which they have dismissed as a sham.
A woman tosses sweets to displaced children at a makeshift camp for displaced people at Beirut's waterfront during Eid al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, in Beirut, Lebanon, 27 May 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
War and Displacement Rob Beirut of Eid al-Adha Joy
A woman tosses sweets to displaced children at a makeshift camp for displaced people at Beirut's waterfront during Eid al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, in Beirut, Lebanon, 27 May 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
The shape of Eid al-Adha has changed for many Lebanese as the war continues, along with the escalation, warnings, and daily anxiety accompanying it. Security developments resulting from the conflict have disrupted family gatherings that have become increasingly limited, while fear and anxiety continue to deepen despite attempts to preserve what remains of Eid traditions.
Lebanese speak of what resembles a slow “psychological death” caused by the ongoing developments, a feeling not limited to those displaced from the south and Beirut’s southern suburbs, but extending to Lebanese across different regions.
Relentless Fear
Ramia Salman says last Eid al-Adha and this year’s holiday no longer carry the same meanings of joy for many Lebanese, as the atmosphere has become more associated with fear than with the happiness that once accompanied such occasions.
She adds: “Last Eid al-Adha, as with this year’s Eid, the scene felt completely different from what we had known for many years. Holidays were always associated with preparing for family visits, buying Eid necessities, welcoming relatives, and even the small details that gave people a different feeling about the occasion. But what is happening today has greatly changed that feeling.”
She told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Two days before Eid, especially with the escalation witnessed in the western Bekaa, we felt deep fear from the very idea of Eid itself. Instead of waiting for the occasion with joy, we found ourselves simply hoping these days would pass safely. The concern is no longer how we will spend Eid or celebrate it, but how we will get through this phase safely.”
She believes even the traditions of Eid eve have changed noticeably, saying: “Eid night was always a space for joy, movement in the markets, family gatherings, and the feeling that there was an occasion everyone was waiting for. Today the scene has changed dramatically. Gatherings have shifted from meetings tied to joy into gatherings dominated by anxiety, fear, and questions.”
She adds: “Sometimes we feel as though the Israeli army is constantly manipulating our nervous system. The issue is not only related to airstrikes or direct attacks, but to the permanent state of anticipation imposed on people.”
She continues: “Fear and panic are no longer temporary feelings tied to a specific moment. They have become part of daily life. Sometimes we feel we are not just living in fear of a particular event, but enduring a form of continuous internal exhaustion, as if something inside a person is gradually fading away.”
People visit the graves of their loved ones at a local cemetery on Eid al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, in Beirut, Lebanon, 27 May 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
The Meaning of Eid
For her part, Zeinab Tahmaz says holidays had already begun losing part of their traditions in recent years, but the war accelerated that transformation even further.
She told Asharq Al-Awsat that “since last Eid al-Adha, the atmosphere has been almost nonexistent.” Recalling scenes from last year, she says: “At the time, warnings were issued and we saw how many areas, especially in the southern suburbs, were evacuated. That was proof that people no longer had the desire to go out or even visit their villages.”
She continues: “We had the scent of Eid, the village, our grandfather’s house, and family gatherings. These were things we once took for granted. But this year, even those things have been taken away from us.”
She says: “Sometimes I feel the war is not only taking away our sense of safety or the atmosphere itself, but also our ability to feel things the same way. The things we once waited for with excitement are no longer awaited in the same way.”
Fear Changed Eid Plans
Ali Al-Husseini says the escalation has not only changed the atmosphere of Eid, but also altered personal and family decisions that once seemed settled.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat: “I had planned to spend Eid with my family in the Bekaa, and the idea was tied to returning, even briefly, to the atmosphere we used to know.” He noted that “the escalation in the days leading up to Eid had the exact opposite psychological effect. Instead of making us think about Eid, it created feelings of fear and anxiety.”
He says: “I decided to remain with my children in our place of displacement in Mount Lebanon out of fear of any new escalation or warnings, and concern that developments could spiral in a way that would prevent me from returning to Beirut for medical treatment.”
A Slow Death
Saeed Shehab believes the war has not only stripped people of the details of Eid, but also forced them to reconsider even the things that once seemed self-evident.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Under these circumstances, Eid itself feels absent, whether there is a warning or not,” adding: “People have started clinging to the simplest things and saying thank God they still have a house they can sit in, a house that has not been destroyed and where they are still able to remain.”
He continues: “Beyond the feeling that you have already been deprived of many things, you hear reports about the possibility that the area where you are staying could be targeted, and you feel that even the last sense of safety you cling to could be taken away from you.”
He says: “You can lose your hometown, lose people and details that once meant something to you, and then feel that even the house giving you some reassurance could also become threatened.”
He adds: “The problem is not only what is happening outside, but what remains inside a person. A person does not only lose a house or a place, but sometimes feels they are losing part of themselves as well. There is sorrow that remains inside them, and psychological exhaustion that accumulates, as though over time you are living through a kind of slow death of the feelings and things that once gave you hope or a sense of life.”
Lebanese Army Says One Soldier Killed in Israeli Strike in Bekaahttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5277798-lebanese-army-says-one-soldier-killed-israeli-strike-bekaa
Lebanese Army Says One Soldier Killed in Israeli Strike in Bekaa
Lebanese soldiers stand guard outside the Justice Palace in Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
The Lebanese army said on Wednesday that a soldier had been killed in an Israeli air strike near his post in Bekaa and that it had retrieved his body, Reuters reported.
It said the retrieval was delayed from the previous day due to the security situation in the area.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with Israeli forces in a town north of the Litani river on Wednesday, a day after Israel's military said it was expanding its ground operations.
Israel intensified the scope of its strikes on south and east Lebanon on Tuesday despite a ceasefire, killing at least 31 people, Lebanese authorities said, as Hezbollah also kept up its attacks.
In a statement Wednesday, Hezbollah said its fighters "clashed with the enemy forces at point-blank range" with light and medium weapons in the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, on the edge of an Israeli-declared "yellow line" in south Lebanon where its troops have been operating.
Since early Tuesday, the group had said its fighters had faced Israeli troops entering the town, which holds strategic importance due to its proximity to the major southern city of Nabatieh, just six kilometres (four miles) away.
Israel's army on Wednesday renewed an evacuation warning for Nabatieh city after issuing a similar order a day earlier, saying it would act "forcefully" against Hezbollah which it accuses of violating the ceasefire.
The Israeli troop advance towards Zawtar al-Sharqiyah comes after an Israeli military official said Tuesday that soldiers had begun operating beyond the "yellow line", which runs around 10 kilometres deep inside Lebanese territory and where residents have been warned not to return.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said on Tuesday that his country was intensifying operations in Lebanon.
"The (Israeli army) is operating with substantial forces on the ground and securing strategically dominant positions. We are reinforcing the security buffer zone in order to protect the communities of northern Israel," he said.
Hezbollah Says Clashed with Israeli Troops North of Litani Riverhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5277702-hezbollah-says-clashed-israeli-troops-north-litani-river
Hezbollah Says Clashed with Israeli Troops North of Litani River
Smoke billows from southern Lebanon following strikes, as seen from Marjayoun, southern Lebanon, May 27, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with Israeli forces in a town north of the Litani river on Wednesday, a day after Israel's military said it was expanding its ground operations in the country's south.
In a statement, the group said its fighters "clashed with the enemy forces at point-blank range" in the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, located at the edge of an Israeli-declared "yellow line" in south Lebanon where its soldiers have been operating.
Israeli strikes killed 31 people on Tuesday, four of them children, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed to "crush" Hezbollah.
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