The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On July 25-26, 2024, rockets were reportedly fired at the Ayn Al Asad airbase in Iraq's Al-Anbar Governorate and the Conoco base in Syria's Deir Al-Zour Governorate, both of which house American troops, in three separate operations. The attacks were claimed by an obscure, previously unknown group claiming to be part of the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq," which calls itself Al-Thawriyoun [The Revolutionaries]. It should be noted that Al-Thawriyoun's claims were not reported by other Telegram channels supporting the Iran-backed Iraqi militias, although such channels generally cite other claims by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq and other Iran-backed groups.
These are the first attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq since the beginning of February, when it declared a moratorium on such operations to allow the Iraqi government to arrange the complete departure of U.S. forces through negotiations.[1] Sources within the Islamic Resistance in Iraq told the pro-Hizbullah Lebanese Al-Akhbar daily that it had resumed attacks on U.S. forces in order to pressure the Iraqi government into arranging the withdrawal of U.S. troops within two months.[2]
On July 29, Iraq's Alahad television network aired an interview with Mahdi Al-Ka'bi, a member of the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Al-Nujaba Movement, in which Al-Ka'bi declared an end to the moratorium of attacks on U.S. forces announced by the Iran-backed militias. When asked whether that meant a resumption of attacks on the Ayn Al Asad airbase, he replied that "all possibilities are open," adding that the leadership of the "Islamic resistance" and the Iraqi Resistance Coordination Committee (IRCC) would decide on renewing military operations. When the interviewer charged that Al-Ka'bi's stance is "far from [that of] the IRCC," he declared: "On the contrary, we are part of the IRCC," adding cautiously: "It is possible that they will resume targeting American forces in Iraq at any moment."
In a July 29 article, the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat quoted a statement given to the newspaper the previous day by a "senior commander" in the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Sayyid Al-Shuhada' Brigades. The commander asserted: "The Islamic Resistance in Iraq group and the IRCC do not know of any body or group that shells and targets the American forces, and disavow responsibility for those operations." He added that the Sayyid Al-Shuhada' Brigades remains committed to the ceasefire, suggesting that "there may be a faction that carries out those operations independently as a form of pressure," but without the group's knowledge.
[1] See MEMRI JTTM Reports: Iran-Backed Hizbullah Brigades In Iraq Announce Suspension Of All Operations Against U.S. Forces, Denies Iran's Involvement In Previous Attacks, Says Teheran Often Advised Against Escalation, January 30, 2024; and Spokesman Of Iraqi Al-Nujaba Movement: Attacks On U.S. Forces Are Suspended For Now To Allow Iraqi Government To Negotiate U.S. Military Withdrawal, February 21, 2024.
