Iranian-backed militias are targeting US forces in Iraq. The Iranian-linked group Saraya Awliya Al-Dam claimed to have targeted American bases in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Northern Iraq, on March 1. Numerous reports in Erbil said they heard explosions in and around the airport. This appears to be how Iran is seeking to expand the war to Iraq.
Days prior to the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, there were rising tensions in Iraq. Iraq is a center of Iranian influence. There are tens of thousands of men who are members of Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. In addition, there are many Kurds from Iran who have fled to the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq and who are members of Iranian dissident groups.
Additionally, the US military has facilities in Iraq, primarily in the Kurdistan region. Therefore, Iraq has often been in the Iranian spotlight. As the war with Iran has unfolded between February 28 and March 1, Iraq increasingly looks like a frontline.
Let’s start with the situation before February 28. Iraq is home to many Iranian-backed militias called the Hashd al-Shaabi or Popular Mobilization Forces.
Many of these are also part of the Iraqi government’s paramilitary forces. The militias, such as Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, and Asaib Ahl al-Haq, are mostly sanctioned by the US as terrorist groups. They serve Iran and the IRGC, but they are also ostensibly part of the Iraqi government. There are some 100,000 men in the militias.
US facilities in the Kurdistan region
In northern Iraq, there are Kurdish dissident groups who oppose the Iranian regime. These include the groups PDKI, PAK, PJAK, Komala, Khabat, and others. Five of the groups have joined a coalition, announced on February 23, against the Iranian regime. All the groups have armed, trained fighters. Some of these fighters have entered Iran to fight the regime.
The US has facilities in Iraq. It has used Erbil International Airport and also used a base called Harir. As US forces left most of the rest of Iraq between 2019 and 2026, they transitioned to the Kurdistan Region.
In the past, the Iranian-backed militias have targeted US forces in the Kurdistan region and targeted Iranian dissident groups. They have also targeted the airport and the Khor Mor gas field. As such, the Iranian-backed groups in Iraq are well known, and their targets are known.
One of the first incidents in Iraq during the recent war was strikes on Jurf al-Sakhar, a base of the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. Kataib Hezbollah has forces in this site. It was apparently struck early in the day on February 28, causing several casualties.
Since the war began, some of the Iranian-backed militias have appeared mobilized to attack US forces in Iraq. Drones have also been launched against the Kurdistan region. The drones may come from Iran or from militias in Iraq.
On the evening of March 1 drones struck Erbil International airport. A headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, a Kurdish dissident group, was also attacked in Koya in northern Iraq. One of the militias in Iraq, saying they targeted US forces in Erbil, is the Saraya Awliya al-Dam militia group. The group says it is using drones in its attacks.
According to journalist Wladimir van Wilgenburg, one of the drone attacks on Erbil hit an area called 120 meters road. Erbil is a large city shaped like a wagon wheel, with roads arranged in concentric circles around it. It is the capital of the Kurdistan Region. It is also the center of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which tends to be more critical of Iran.
The other major Kurdish party in Iraq, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, is seen as more warm towards Iran. Attacks on dissident groups in Iraq also continue, with claims that the PAK and Komala have been targeted. Sites in Sirgwerz and Surdash may have been targeted, locals say.
Meanwhile, it appears that the militias are also taking hits. Reports say that Kataib Hezbollah has been struck in Jurf al-Sakhar again, and possibly in Al-Qaim in western Iraq. The PMF’s 45th Brigade is in Al-Qaim on the border with Syria.
In another incident, sources told Rudaw media that “Shahraban district was bombed, causing casualties. A PMF source says two people were killed and three were injured. Perpetrator remains unclear.” The Iranian-backed militia Asaib Ahl al-Haq, which is a sanctioned terrorist group by the US, has also been targeted, reports say. Qais Khazali, the head of AAH, went to Lebanon seven years ago and threatened to help Hezbollah fight Israel.
The overall developments in Iraq show that the Iranian-backed militias are being operationalized by Iran as Iran takes losses. This was widely expected. These groups have done Iran’s dirty work before. Kataib Hezbollah killed three Americans in Jordan with a drone attack in 2024, for instance. These groups often work through cut-outs or umbrella groups that they create with new names to provide plausible deniability when they attack.
Iran and the militias may also be targeting Iranian dissident groups in the Kurdistan region, and also energy sites, and are clearly targeting US bases and the airport. This is designed to weaken the Kurdistan region, which is seen as a key US ally. Iran also accuses it of being pro-Israel.