Conflicting reports over the strike that targeted the Jurf al-Sakhar region south of Baghdad overnight on Monday have stirred confusion in Iraq between the United States, Iran-aligned militias and official authorities.
Located in the Babel region south of Baghdad, the region is mostly controlled by the Iran-aligned Kataib Hezbollah militia, making it “fertile ground” for all sorts of rumors that persisted until Tuesday morning when the media reported that ISIS had claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack targeted power transmission towers.
Before the claim of responsibility, rumors had circulated that Washington had struck pro-Iran groups.
Fears were heighted in recent days that the US would carry out an attack against these groups before the term of US President Donald Trump comes to an end.
ISIS’ claim of responsibility did little to ease the concerns even after the armed factions denied that the “US strike” had targeted their locations. They instead said that the raid targeted an Iraqi military unit, claiming several of the forces were killed and wounded.
A major Shiite cleric, Kazem al-Haeri, was quick to condemn the “American strike against Iraqi army positions”.
Haeri, who resides in Iran, was also quick to take advantage of the incident to issue an edict-like statement “barring” the continued deployment of American forces and their allies in Iraq.
“Serious efforts must be exerted to preserve our territories as these forces have no legitimacy on our lands,” he added.
The US embassy, meanwhile, confirmed that “no US personnel or assets were in the vicinity of Jurf al-Sakhar and that there was no US involvement in this alleged incident.”
Iraqi military spokesman Yahya Rasoul said the incident was an act of “sabotage” against transmission towers carried out by an “outlawed group” – an implicit denial that ISIS was behind the attack.
Security expert Sarmad al-Bayati told Asharq Al-Awsat that attacks against transmission towers have been taking place for some time now, citing similar incidents in western regions and later in the Diyala province.
“These are new means to incite the people against the state,” he remarked, saying ISIS was behind them.
“The group has resorted to such tactics after finding itself unable to confront the security forces, so it has set its sights on destroying infrastructure,” he explained.
On the confusion that followed in the hours after the attack, he said the rumors spread rapidly because the official authorities were slow in making a statement that set the facts straight, allowing various sides to exploit the situation.
