What do we know about the Iraqi factions involved in the Iran–Iraq War?

Since the early days of the American-Israeli war on Iran, Iraqi armed factions have emerged in active roles, manifesting in drone and missile attacks against American bases, including the airport base in Erbil, and American targets inside and outside Iraq, turning the Iraqi arena into a hot hub.

“Since the early days of the American-Israeli war on Iran, some Iraqi armed factions have emerged in active roles in the course of the war, manifested in military operations that killed about half of the total casualties among the American Army in the past two weeks”

Al-Jazeera Net

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an alliance including several factions backed by Tehran, has announced near-daily operations, including 27 attacks against American bases in a single day in Iraq and the region.

Al-Jazeera Net

Last Friday, it claimed responsibility for an exceptional event that killed six American soldiers, which the U.S. Central Command quickly acknowledged as the deaths in western Iraq due to the crash of a refueling aircraft on board; the group said it had shot down an American aircraft of type KC-135 and targeted another in western Iraq, adding that the second aircraft landed forcibly at one of the enemy's airports, and its crew managed to escape.

Israeli Channel 12 noted the second aircraft, which was also intended for refueling, landed at Ben Gurion Airport.

The total American casualties since the start of the war, about two weeks ago, reached 13 soldiers.

المقاومة الإسلامية في العراق comprises several armed factions that unite to target American interests, namely: حزب الله العراقي, عصائب أهل الحق, تشكيل الوارثين, حركة النجباء, كتائب سيد الشهداء.

In addition to the Islamic Resistance, several Iraqi factions have stood out, with some choosing to participate in the war and others declaring they would not participate.

Al-Jazeera Net

Among the factions that regularly publish details about their daily operations during the war is سرايا أولياء الدم, which is part of about 10 elite Shiite factions established by Iran, composed of hundreds of fighters and aligned with Wilayat al-Faqih, notable for greater ability to use modern warfare technologies and directly linked to فيلق القدس.

سرايا أولياء الدم announced today that it carried out 5 qualitative operations against American targets inside and outside Iraq in the last 24 hours.

The faction announced last Wednesday that it had carried out 76 military operations since Washington and Tel Aviv began their aggression against Iran on February 28.

What is the impact of Iraqi factions on the war? Military and strategic expert Brig. Gen. Hassan Jouni says Iraq's geographic location makes it a contact zone between Iran and the American bases scattered in the region, placing it at the heart of the indirect confrontation between the two sides.

Meanwhile, the military and strategic expert Brig. Gen. Elias Hana says Israel has begun to rely on the Iraqi corridor as a route to reach the Iranian depth, which explains the downing of the American refueling plane over Iraqi territory.

In an Al Jazeera analysis, the brigadier described what Iran and its proxies in Iraq are doing as a methodical horizontal escalation aimed at occupying Washington on multiple fronts and raising the cost of continuing the war.

Hana concluded that the Iraqi arena will remain aflame throughout this war, as Iran views Iraq as a strategic depth that cannot be sacrificed.

He noted that history confirms that every threat Iran faced through the ages passed through Iraq, from Alexander the Great to the 2003 American invasion, which makes controlling this arena an existential issue in Iran's strategic horizon.

In assessing the nature of the confrontation, Brig. Gen. Hassan Jouni said that armed factions rely on a strategy of attrition against American forces, taking advantage of their possession of short- and medium-range missiles such as غراد and كاتيوشا, in addition to drones.

He adds that these capabilities allow the factions to carry out repeated low-cost attacks, capable of keeping American bases on constant alert and disrupting their military operations.

He notes that Iraq has actually become a launch platform and a targeting platform at the same time, as attacks originate from it toward American bases, while it is subjected to strikes targeting the factions and their military stores.

The ongoing field developments confirm this pattern of confrontation, as the هيئة الحشد الشعبي in Iraq announced last Thursday the deaths of 27 and 50 wounded due to American air strikes on its headquarters since the beginning of the month.

Military and strategic expert Brig. Gen. Hassan Jouni says Iraq's geographic location makes it a contact zone between Iran and the American bases scattered in the region, placing it at the heart of the indirect confrontation between the two sides.

“Since the early days of the American-Israeli war on Iran, some Iraqi armed factions have emerged in active roles in the course of the war, manifested in military operations that killed about half of the total casualties among the American Army in the past two weeks”

Al-Jazeera Net

Meanwhile, military and strategic expert Brig. Gen. Elias Hana says Israel has begun to rely on the Iraqi corridor as a route to reach the Iranian depth, which explains the downing of the American refueling plane over Iraqi territory.

In an Al Jazeera analysis, the brigadier described what Iran and its proxies in Iraq are doing as a methodical horizontal escalation aimed at occupying Washington on multiple fronts and raising the cost of continuing the war.

Hana concluded that the Iraqi arena will remain aflame throughout this war, as Iran views Iraq as a strategic depth that cannot be sacrificed.

He noted that history confirms that every threat Iran faced through the ages passed through Iraq, from Alexander the Great to the 2003 American invasion, which makes controlling this arena an existential issue in Iran's strategic horizon.

Factions rely on a strategy of attrition against American forces, taking advantage of short- and medium-range missiles such as غراد and كاتيوشا, in addition to drones.

These capabilities allow the factions to carry out repeated low-cost attacks, keeping American bases on constant alert and disrupting their military operations.

Al-Jazeera Net

Iraq has actually become a launch platform and a targeting platform at the same time, as attacks originate from it toward American bases, while it is subjected to strikes targeting the factions and their military stores.

The ongoing field developments confirm this pattern of confrontation, as the هيئة الحشد الشعبي in Iraq announced last Thursday the deaths of 27 and 50 wounded due to American air strikes on its headquarters since the beginning of the month.