The Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, who have carried out hundreds of attacks on behalf of Iran since the US and Israel's war on Iran began, are suffering increased losses.
Rudaw Media Network in Erbil reported on March 12 that “more than a dozen members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), also known as Hashd al-Shaabi, were killed in two separate strikes targeting the group’s bases in Kirkuk and Anbar provinces in the early hours of Thursday, amid escalating regional tensions.”
Erbil is the capital of the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. The PMF has seen numerous bases of theirs hit by airstrikes across the rest of Iraq.
The most recent attacks have targeted a camp of the PMF in Qaim in western Iraq on the border with Syria. Ten members of the group were killed.
The PMF is also called the Hashd al-Shaabi in Iraq. It is a group of dozens of militia brigades that were formed in 2014. Prior to 2014, most of these militias existed as independent units, and they had links to Iran.
Many of them are considered terrorist groups by the US. This includes Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, Kataib Imam Ali, Kataib Sayyid al Shuhada, and Harakat Ansar Allah al Awfiya.
These groups in the PMF have been an Iraqi paramilitary force since around 2018, when they began receiving state salaries. This means they are part of the government and also operate quasi-independently, with close ties to Iran.
The Iraqi government has expressed sorrow over the losses to the PMF. Meanwhile, the government of Iraq is being asked by the US and the Kurdistan Region to rein in the PMF groups and stop the attacks.
Iran-backed militias in Iraq target airports and US sites
The estimated 300 attacks by these militias have targeted military airports in Iraq, including one near Baghdad and also Balad air base, and they have targeted a US diplomatic site in Baghdad and US forces in the Kurdistan Region.
They have also targeted hotels and Kurdish Iranian opposition groups. In recent days, the US Embassy in Baghdad has increased its warnings to US citizens in Iraq and warned about the activities of the militias.
The airstrikes come in this context. The airstrikes have hit PMF units near Mosul and in the Nineveh plains in recent days. Between March 8 and 11. This has included the Hashd 30th Brigade, which is a unit of the Shabak minority in Iraq.
The Shabak have villages in the Nineveh plains, and some of them joined the PMF during the war against ISIS. Iran has used this area in Nineveh to launch rockets and drones at the Kurdistan Region. In recent weeks, several KIA Bongo trucks have been found with rocket launchers installed on the back.
In addition, a unit of the Kataib Imam Ali has apparently been targeted near Kirkuk. The Rudaw report said that “in a separate drone strike on a PMF base in Kirkuk, at least four members of Hashd al-Shaabi were killed and around eight others were injured, according to Rudaw reporters on the ground citing relevant sources.”
The Rudaw report noted that “the attacks on PMF bases come three days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, during which he stressed that the Iraqi government must take ‘all possible measures’ to protect American personnel and facilities across the country.”
The report says that six members of the PMF were also killed in strikes on March 11 near Dibs, north of Kirkuk. “On Sunday, four PMF members were killed and eight others wounded in an airstrike in Diyala province, according to the armed group.”
Reports on social media indicate that some of the PMF members killed between March 11 and 12 near Kirkuk were members of a Turkmen PMF unit. Many people in Kirkuk came to a local hospital to give blood after the strike. There are many Turkmen in Kirkuk.
The PMF illustrates one of the ways that Iran influences Iraq. They recruit locally for the ranks of some units. As such, the units are seen as protecting local areas. The airstrikes targeting the Shabak PMF and Turkmen, therefore, tend to harm locals, even though it is the long arm of Iran that is linked to attacks in Iraq. These units thus suffer from Iran’s policies. This then leads to local anger after the airstrikes.
It is not clear if the airstrikes will cause Baghdad to finally rein in the militias. It is also not clear who is behind the airstrikes. Many of the locals have blamed the US. Some have also blamed Israel or believe it is a combination of the US and Israel.