Recent Kurdistan Region attacks expose Baghdad’s struggle with Iran-backed militias - analysis

Three drones were intercepted over Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, as Baghdad seeks to bring armed groups under state control and rein in Iran-backed militias.

Three drones were intercepted over Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq, on Friday.

The Kurdistan Region has been targeted by more than 1,000 drones and missiles launched by Iran and Iranian-backed proxies since February. Iraq has vowed that it will rein in Iranian-backed militias in Baghdad; however, the continued attacks illustrate that Baghdad has not been able to stop all the attacks.

The drone attack on Friday was intercepted by “US-led Global Coalition forces,” Rudaw media in Erbil said. “In the early hours of this morning, Friday … between 2:17 a.m. and 2:25 a.m. [local time], Coalition forces intercepted and shot down three bomb-laden drones in the skies over Erbil,” the Erbil-based Directorate General of Counter Terrorism said in a statement. “Fortunately, there were no casualties,” the statement added.

The report noted that Iran had also targeted an area in the Alana valley with missiles and drones last week. The attacks targeted the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran and Komala, which are two Kurdish Iranian opposition groups.

“According to Rudaw tracking, the Kurdistan Region has recorded more than 950 drone and missile attacks launched by Iran and allied armed groups in Iraq since the outbreak of the six-week war in late February, killing 32 people and wounding 154 others as of early August,” Rudaw noted.

After the latest attack on Friday, an Iranian-backed militia denied responsibility for the attack. Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS), which is one of the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and is also sanctioned as a terrorist group by the US, denied it had attacked Erbil. It claimed there was a “partial agreement” to stop attacks.

Along with groups such as Kataib Hezbollah, the KSS group is one of the major Iranian-backed threats in Iraq. These groups are also part of the Iraq paramilitary group called the Popular Mobilization Forces. As such, they operate as both illegal militias and also as a semi-official government force.

Kadhim al-Fartousi, spokesperson for the KSS group, told Rudaw that the attack “was not carried out by our groups…there is currently a partial agreement that no operations or attacks should be carried out, and that responding to Saudi Arabia’s attacks should also be delayed.”

Erbil backs Baghdad plan to bring militias’ weapons under state control

The Kurdistan Region has very good intelligence regarding which militias have targeted the region over the last year. It appears that Erbil is trying to work with Baghdad on a pragmatic solution that won’t require confronting the militias directly. Baghdad was to disarm the militias or move their arms to be completely controlled by the government. Erbil supports this. So does the US, Saudi Arabia and others.

Kurdistan Regional President Nechirvan Barzani said in an interview with Iraq’s privately owned Al Sharqiya TV that the region has been targeted by 1,000 attacks using drones and missiles. “According to Rudaw tracking, the attacks have killed 32 people and injured nearly 150 others,” Rudaw noted.

To understand the complexity of the situation, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) said their 52nd Brigade would be deployed in Amirli district in eastern Saladin province. This means that while the government reins in the militias, the PMF is still active throughout Iraq.

Iraq seeks to bring armed groups under state authority despite PMF ties

“The handover is part of a reorganization of security sectors and responsibilities aimed at enhancing field integration and coordination between the forces,” a statement from the PMF said, according to Rudaw. “The development comes as the Iraqi government is seeking to place all armed forces and weapons under state authority.”

“The PMF is a constitutional and legal institution and a major title and foundation for the movement of forces,” Iraqi officials say. It remains to be seen how the Iraqis will rein in the militias so long as they also function within the PMF as official brigades.