Following the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, a military alliance was formed under the banner “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” in response to the attacks launched by Iran-backed armed groups against U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria using drones and missiles.
The “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” first emerged after the 2003 U.S. war on Iraq, initially representing multiple Sunni armed factions, but later diminished following the rise of Iranian-backed Shia militant groups. However, on October 21, 2023, the name resurged as armed groups affiliated with it claimed responsibility for missile and drone attacks on U.S. military sites in Syria and Iraq as a retaliation against the Israeli aggression supported by the United States on Gaza in October 2023.
On November 25, 2023, the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades disclosed the participation of certain groups, including the “Said al-Shuhada Brigades” and “Al-Nujaba Movement”, as part of the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”. These groups are integral to the broader “Axis of Resistance” led by Tehran, which includes regional factions such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, along with the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades and the dissident Ansar Allah loyalists. Many consider these groups as significant Iraqi proxies of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force.
The factions under this umbrella initially targeted U.S. military interests in Iraq and Syria in response to the Israeli aggression in Gaza, with the attacks on American military bases believed to be deliberately conducted under a loose framework to allow for deniability when necessary. Furthermore, these factions aim to pressure the Iraqi government and political leaders to officially demand the withdrawal of U.S. forces. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq also shares ties with the Popular Mobilization Forces, a semi-military alliance formed in 2014 in response to a call by Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to support security forces against the Islamic State.
Notable Events
On October 17, 2023, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq launched drone attacks on the Ain al-Assad Airbase in western Iraq and the Harir Airbase, housing U.S. forces near Erbil Airport in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Subsequently, on October 19, 2023, they targeted the T-4 Airbase in Syria with drone strikes and conducted a missile attack on the Conoco gas field, a U.S. company facility in Syria.
These attacks persisted, and on November 3, 2023, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq announced a “more intense and extensive” phase, citing it as a drive to support Palestine. This phase commenced with the targeting of “Israeli targets”, including one in Eilat, the southernmost city of the occupied Palestinian territories on the Red Sea.
In separate operations on December 28, 2023, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq reported strikes on “Israeli targets” within Iraqi and Syrian Golan Heights. Additionally, on January 28, 2024, they claimed responsibility for an attack on the al-Tanf base, housing U.S. forces northeast of Jordan, resulting in the deaths of three American soldiers.
Two days after this attack, the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades, under the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”, officially announced the suspension of military and security operations against U.S. forces to prevent any embarrassment for the Iraqi government, affirming that Iran was not aware of their actions and frequently objected to their escalation against the U.S. forces.
