Iraqi militias 'break ceasefire' with US, attempt drone strikes in response to Israel's 'genocide' on Gaza

Iraqi militias allied with Tehran announced on Wednesday, 19 October, the end of a year-long ceasefire with the US forces by launching suicide drone strikes on two US bases, Ain al-Asad and Harir, in the western and northern regions of the country. This is a significant escalation of hostilities between Iraqi militias and US forces after the US expressed its full support for Israel's war on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. 

Israel has launched relentless air strikes against the Gaza Strip after a surprise attack by Hamas fighters on 7 October; an attack considered one of the worst on Israel, in which 1,400 were killed, and various Palestinian fighters captured more than 200. 

Israel also put Gaza under a "total siege", widely considered a war crime, and subjected the population to indiscriminate shelling and airstrikes. Over 3,000 have been killed and over 12,000 wounded; most victims have been women and children.

Iran-backed militias describing themselves as "the Islamic resistance in Iraq" have announced their responsibility in targeting Al-Asad Airbase, which houses US forces in the western Iraqi governorate of Anbar, as well as Harir US Airbase, located approximately 20 kilometres from the centre of Erbil, with drones.

The militias claimed that the airstrikes "hit their targets directly". However, US officials told international news agencies that two drones were intercepted before reaching their target. 

A militia group calling themselves the "Heirs Formation" claimed responsibility for the attack on Harir airbase. However, the Kurdistan counterterrorism unit, an affiliate of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party, claimed that an explosive-laden drone hit an unpopulated area near Harir district of Erbil on Wednesday at noon, causing no casualties or damages. 

#WATCH | The Islamic Resistance in #Iraq posted a video depicting what it described as "launching drones against the [US] occupied Ain Al-Assad air base." pic.twitter.com/QLiLMMWnJJ

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 18, 2023

Harir Airbase has been crucial in supporting Iraqi and Kurdish forces to combat the Islamic State. However, the recent attacks have exposed vulnerabilities in the security apparatus protecting this strategic facility.

Three close sources to prominent Iranian-aligned militia groups, including Kata'ib Hezbollah, Al-Nujaba, and Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, The New Arab's Arabic sister language website that their previous ceasefire with the US forces in Iraq is "effectively over". 

One of the sources stated, "There is no longer a ceasefire", and accused US forces of directly supporting Israel in its aggressions on Gaza. Another source noted that the Iraqi cabinet of  Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani "should expel the US forces," or they will not expect further silence from the Shia militias.

The source, however, emphasised that targeting the two US bases "was not a central decision from all Islamic resistance factions; instead, they were reactions by some factions in retaliation to Israeli atrocities in Palestine."

"In the last 24 hours, the US military defended against three drones near US and Coalition forces in Iraq. In western Iraq, US forces engaged two drones, destroying one and damaging the second, resulting in minor injuries to Coalition forces," the US Central Command said in a statement on Wednesday. "Separately in northern Iraq, US forces engaged and destroyed a drone, resulting in no injuries or damage. We are continuing to assess the impacts to operations. In this moment of heightened alert, we are vigilantly monitoring the situation in Iraq and the region. We want to emphasise US forces will defend US and Coalition forces against any threat."

Iraqi armed factions reportedly established a joint operation room, called "Al-Aqsa Flood Support Operations Room", to coordinate among themselves as they have vowed to escalate hostilities against the US interests in Iraq and with Lebanon's Hizballa against Israel. 

In response to the events unfolding in Gaza, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, Iraq's former prime minister, called for the immediate implementation of the Iraqi parliament's decision to expel foreign forces from the country. 

"Faced with the great tragedy and in response to the aggression on Palestine, I call for two urgent demands: firstly, the immediate execution of the parliament's resolution to withdraw all US and NATO forces in all their forms," Abdul-Mahdi stated in a press release. "Secondly, preparing on all levels and fields to confront the long battle that awaits us."

These airstrikes mark the first of their kind in over a year, following the formation of the current government led by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. Prominent officials had acknowledged the existence of an unannounced ceasefire that called for the cessation of attacks by Iran-aligned militias on US interests in the country.

On Monday, 16 October, US President Joe Biden made a phone call with Sudani. 

"They discussed ongoing efforts to prevent an expansion of the conflict in Gaza," according to a statement by the White House. "The two leaders discussed the importance of addressing the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, in coordination with the UN and regional partners."

They also affirmed the importance of the bilateral partnership between Iraq and the US as outlined in the Strategic Framework Agreement between the two countries.

A Tuesday night strike on a Gaza hospital compound widely blamed on Israel, which health officials said killed at least 471 people, has provoked outrage and condemnation from around the world. It was the deadliest single attack on Gaza ever.

🔴Baghdad, Iraq pic.twitter.com/a2uSe9zV8O

— Suribelle 🚩 (@Syribelle) October 18, 2023

Iraqi social media users have called for torching the US embassy in Baghdad.   

Thousands of angry Iraqi protestors took to the streets in the capital city of Baghdad to denounce the Gaza hospital carnage.

Protestors tried to reach the fortified Green Zone, where the US embassy and other foreign diplomatic missions are located, but Iraqi security forces blockaded the bridges and ways to the area. 

The situation remains volatile, and further developments are expected as multiple regional actors navigate a complex geopolitical landscape. The ending of the ceasefire and the recent airstrikes have once again brought attention to the fragile security situation in Iraq and its implications for regional stability.

Palestinians in Gaza accused Israel of being behind the strike. Israeli officials claimed that a misfired rocket attack by the Islamic Jihad group caused the massacre. However, no rocket ever launched by Palestinian groups has had such a deadly effect, and both Islamic Jihad and Hamas have described the Israeli claims as "lies".