As America and Israel continued striking Iran, the Islamic Republic’s partners in Iraq claimed additional attacks against the “US presence” in the region on March 4 and 5, particularly in Iraqi Kurdistan, which hosts significant American forces.
The militia attacks are conducted by groups operating under the banner of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), an umbrella that major Iran-backed, US-designated terror groups use to claim attacks against American forces, Israel, and other targets. The joint American-Israeli coalition is also likely targeting the Iran-backed militias in Iraq, in addition to their campaign against Iran, though neither the US nor Israel have claimed any operations.
On March 4, Saraya Awliyah al Dam (SAD), a front group for Iran-backed militias operating under the IRI banner, claimed an attack against a hotel in Erbil where it said US service members were staying with “a squadron of drones.” The group had claimed a similar attack against an unspecified hotel in Erbil the day before. In addition, SAD claimed two drone attacks on the American presence at Erbil International Airport and one against a “vital target” in Jordan on March 4.
In these statements, SAD said that the attacks were in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and intended to deter US attacks that have killed Iraqi militiamen since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury on February 28.
The Kurdish Rudaw Media Network reported a wave of drone and missile attacks against Erbil on March 4. Iraqi media outlets also reported that multiple drones targeted Victoria Base at Baghdad International Airport the same day.
On March 5, the IRI claimed that it conducted 29 operations using dozens of drones and missiles in the preceding 24 hours, though these details could not be confirmed. The activities likely included the SAD attacks, as the group reports its operations under the IRI umbrella. The IRI also said that its fighters downed a US MQ-9 drone, and the group threatened to attack European forces in Iraq and the region if they participate in the conflict.
On March 5, Kurdistan 24 reported that an attack of an unspecified nature targeted Azadi Camp, which houses Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups, but caused no casualties.
Early in the morning on March 5, an explosive-laden boat targeted and damaged an oil tanker anchored near Iraq’s Khor al Zubair port. Iran International reported that the vessel used in the attack was an Iranian remotely controlled boat.
On March 4, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Iraqi Chargé d’Affaires to protest the targeting of Kuwait by Iran-backed Iraqi militias on March 3.
Likely and reported US and Israeli operations against Tehran’s Iraqi proxies
On March 4, a strike conducted by an unconfirmed party targeted and killed Abu Hassan al Fariji, a commander in the Iran-backed militia and US-designated terror group Kataib Hezbollah, along with another militia member in Babil in central Iraq. Kataib Hezbollah Secretary General Abu Hussain al Hamidawi issued a statement on March 5 about Fariji’s death, praising his role as one of the group’s commanders for more than 20 years.
According to Shafaq News, four strikes were also conducted in Iraq’s Nineveh Governorate on March 4 against groups that are part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an official Iraqi security institution largely comprised of Iran-backed militias. Two attacks targeted facilities belonging to Kataib Sayyid al Shuhada, a US-designated terror group that controls the 14th Brigade of the PMF. The two remaining attacks targeted facilities belonging to the PMF’s 30th Brigade, a militia drawn mostly from the Shabak ethnic minority in Nineveh that has close ties to Iran’s network in Iraq. No casualties were reported.
Also on March 4, the Iraqi government’s Security Media Cell (SMC) announced that Iraqi security forces in Karbala were hit with an airstrike from an unidentified attacker. “In a condemned and deplorable incident, a force from the Karbala Operations Command, while carrying out an inspection duty in the desert area linking the provinces of Karbala and the Holy Najaf at dawn today, came under aerial bombardment and gunfire, resulting in the martyrdom of one fighter and the injury of two others from the heroes of our security units,” the SMC stated on X.
Notably, Iraqi officials told Rudaw Media Network on March 5 that a “US special force has landed in desert areas in Iraq’s Anbar, Najaf and Karbala provinces, resulting in reported clashes with Iraqi forces that left one soldier dead and two others wounded.” However, US Central Command (CENTCOM) has not addressed this claim.
Since the beginning of the operation against the Islamic Republic on February 28, a number of unclaimed strikes have targeted Iraqi militias. American and/or Israeli forces have likely conducted the attacks.
Bridget Toomey is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focusing on Iranian proxies, specifically Iraqi militias and the Houthis.
Tags: Iran, Iraq, Islamic Resistance in Iraq, Israel-Iran, Kataib Hezbollah, Operation Epic Fury, PMF, Saraya Awliyah al Dam, Shiite militias, US-Iran
