Unidentified Drones Attack Militia Base on Iraq-Syria Border

Reports out of the Iraqi border town of al-Qaim say that a group of drones of unknown origin have carried out a series of strikes against a base belonging to the Iraqi militia Ketaib Hezbollah. There is as yet no confirmation of any casualties.

Qaim is the border town between Iraq and Syria. Iraqi militias have presences on both sides of the border, and have come under attack on Syria’s side, in Abu Kamal, several times in recent weeks.

Iraqi officials have often blamed Israel for such attacks, and indeed it would not be unusual for Israel to attack Iraq’s Shi’ite militias, since they generally label these groups as “Iranian” and insist they have the right to attack Iranians at any time.

Ketaib Hezbollah is part of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which have also been a target of US forces in recent weeks. That means either they or Israel or liable to be behind this attack. In either case, such incidents are likely to fuel more interest among Iraqi militia groups in retaliating.