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Iranian Militias Switch Positions in Syria

View of a damaged building in the aftermath of missile attacks in Erbil, Iraq March 13, 2022. (Reuters)
View of a damaged building in the aftermath of missile attacks in Erbil, Iraq March 13, 2022. (Reuters)
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Iranian Militias Switch Positions in Syria

View of a damaged building in the aftermath of missile attacks in Erbil, Iraq March 13, 2022. (Reuters)
View of a damaged building in the aftermath of missile attacks in Erbil, Iraq March 13, 2022. (Reuters)

After a dozen ballistic missiles struck Iraq’s northern Kurdish regional capital of Erbil, Iranian militias across Syria undertook redeployment and repositioning operations.

The attack against Erbil had also targeted the US consulate’s new building on Saturday evening.

In the western Euphrates region, Iranian-backed militias in Al-Bokamal and its desert, Al-Mayadeen and its countryside have changed their positions and outposts and stationed in new posts, transported weapons and ammunition to other locations in Al-Shibli area, Al-Mazarea in the outskirts and desert of Al-Mayadeen and in Al-Raqqah, informed sources at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

The war monitor’s sources have also reported that Iranian-backed militias have transported their forces and weapons from two areas of Maadan desert.

According to Observatory sources, Iranian-backed militias conducted unusual movements in Palmyra and its desert and other areas in the eastern countryside of Homs, as these militias have repositioned in new sites there and evacuated warehouses and points.

Similar operations on the outskirts of the capital Damascus and near the border with Lebanon in the Damascus countryside have occurred.

The mass reshaping of Iranian positioning in Syria came after two members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force and two other Syrian fighters operating under the banner of Iran-backed militias were killed in an Israeli attack on March 7.

Israel had hit their military positions near Damascus International Airport.

Severe tensions have also taken over Syrian-Iraqi borders. Beyond military calculations and positions, the area is troubled by terrorists and smugglers.

On Friday night, clashes erupted between a group of smugglers and Iraqi border guards in the Al-Bokamal desert border with Iraq in Syria’s eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor.

According to the Observatory, the clashes started with the attempt of a group of smugglers to cross the Iraqi border. Eventually, the smugglers managed to flee towards Syrian territory amid clashes.

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Iraqi Govt to Factions: We Are Not Concerned with Israeli-Iranian War

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani holds a meeting with leaders of the Coordination Framework coalition in Baghdad. (X)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani holds a meeting with leaders of the Coordination Framework coalition in Baghdad. (X)
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Iraqi Govt to Factions: We Are Not Concerned with Israeli-Iranian War

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani holds a meeting with leaders of the Coordination Framework coalition in Baghdad. (X)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani holds a meeting with leaders of the Coordination Framework coalition in Baghdad. (X)

Aside from a complaint to the United Nation Security Council against Israel over its violations of Iraq’s airspace, the Baghdad government is acting cautiously as it seeks to avoid become dragged into the conflict between Israel and neighboring Iran.

The authorities in Baghdad and the Iran-backed Coordination Framework realize the dangerous consequences of any action by the Iran-aligned armed factions.

Sources said the government and its allies have taken a “firm decision” to avoid any repercussions from the war and that no one should intervene in it “in any way, shape or form.”

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani held intense contacts with the heads of Shiite parties and factions to deliver one main message: “We are not concerned with taking part in this war.”

Even though they have not acted yet, the pro-Iran factions have stressed that they will not allow Israel to “exploit its position to wipe out their camps and the Popular Mobilization Forces.”

And yet, the factions are aware that their participation in the war will not “yield the desired strategic impact.”

Spokesman for the Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada faction Sheikh Kazem al-Fartousi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the “means at the factions’ disposal are not enough to change the course of the battle where all sorts of deadly missiles, technology and military equipment are being used.”

“The Iraqi authorities have not taken enough measures against the United States, which is backing Israel, and it appears to be helpless in doing anything to protect Iraq’s sovereignty,” he added.

Furthermore, he denied claims that booby-trapped drones had been launched from near the Iraqi-Iranian border. He also denied knowing anything about operations carried out by the armed factions against Israel from Iraqi territory.

They would usually announce their responsibility for such operations, he explained.

Sources said the drones were fired from Iranian military camps located inside Iraq territory near the border.

They added that the Iranians “have not yet decided whether to attack American bases in the region, but there is speculation that they have already prepared a list of targets that they will hit with an unprecedented missile barrage. The bases include Ain al-Assad and Harir in Iraq and bases in eastern Syria.”

A senior Iraqi official, however, said Baghdad had requested from Tehran that it refrain from attacking American interests in Iraq.

The Iranians said they were understanding of the request.

Researcher Nizar Haidar said the Iraqi PM had exerted extraordinary efforts with political leaders from the Coordination Framework to persuade the factions to hold back from attacking American interests.