Attacks on the US in Iraq turned into a dangerous cycle: Analysts New conflicts

Pro-Iran militias are “playing with fire” attacking American interests in Iraq and the escalation of recent strikes could be out of control, analysts have warned.

Two dozen rockets were fired on Tuesday at the Ain Al-Assad base in western Anbar, which includes Iraqi and American forces, injuring two members of the service in a severe attack.

A missile launcher used in the attack exploded near the base and damaged several buildings, including the mosque.

Hamza Mishaan was among several civilians injured in the blast. He wondered why they were being caught fighting.

“As I was looking out the window the explosion exploded and shrapnel hit me in the head. Why is this happening around us? We are not part of this conflict, ”Mishaan told Al Jazeera.

Iraq’s Tahsin al-Khafaji Joint Operations Command has acknowledged that attacks are on the rise.

“Terrorists are using a variety of ways to get to the base. This time the missiles were under sacks of flour. We are gathering evidence to identify the perpetrators,” he said.

‘Required permissions’

The used truck turned into a metal twist and was next to an exploded mosque after the latest pro-Iranian forces attacked Iraq in the interests of the US.

“The whole neighborhood was damaged, the houses burned, the windows broken,” said neighbor Hamza Abdulrazzaq, wrapped his head in a bandage. “The government needs to protect us. Why do we always have to pay the price? “

There have been previous attacks in the desert province of Anbar in Iraq, where US-led coalition troops are taking on ISIL (ISIS) armed groups. But this operation was larger than the previous ones.

Iraqi General Hamad Namess said a total of 24 rockets were fired from a truck carrying flour on Tuesday.

“The vehicle had all the necessary permits to cross the checkpoints,” he told reporters on Thursday, speaking at the scene of the attacks.

Fourteen of the projects were targeted and caused two minor injuries to the base staff.

‘Playing with fire’

The Pentagon said on Thursday it was deeply concerned about attacks by U.S. workers in Iraq and Syria in recent days.

“They’re using a deadly weapon. I don’t know how to say anything else that is a serious threat, ”Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

Iraqi militia groups backing Iran have vowed to take revenge last month when U.S. airstrikes killed four of their members on the Iraq-Syria border.

Iran has denied attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria and condemned U.S. strikes against Iranian protection groups.

Iraq, despite a long period of fierce rivalry between the United States and Iran, a shared enemy of ISIL, has seen rocket and drone attacks in recent months on U.S. targets.

In recent days there have been repeated strikes against US interests in the west, Kurdish regions in northern Iraq in the north and US embassies in Baghdad.

Some previously unknown groups have claimed that they are demanding the departure of the “American occupier” or that they have promised to avenge the deaths of members killed in the U.S. bombings.

But observers blame the pro-Iranian factions for acting under the umbrella Hashd al-Shaabi A paramilitary alliance was formed to fight ISIL.

Hashde commanders, who are integrated into state forces and have become important political actors, often praise the attacks without ever claiming responsibility.

Hashd has promised revenge the deaths of his forces In US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.

Analysts warn that even if the two sides do not want to escalate the conflict, the attacks have turned into violent violence.

A senior military official warned him that Iraqi armed groups were “playing with fire.”

Losing legitimacy?

“We can expect the cycle to continue,” said Marsin Alshamary, an Iraqi specialist at the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank.

Pro-Iranian forces have carried out dozens of attacks on U.S. interests since the beginning of the year in Iraq, mostly as a show of strength.

Iraqi researcher Hamdi Malik of the Washington Institute said recent attacks by groups lined up in Iraq and eastern Syria are a way to bolster aid.

Iranian-backed groups hit hard in January last year when the US assassinated a prominent Iranian ruler Qassem Soleimani and his Iraqi lieutenant Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

“By not acting when more people die, [pro-Iran groups] the risk of losing credibility and legitimacy in the face of their foundations, ”Malik said.

They are also “cautious” about losing respect for other components of the “axis of resistance” in other countries in the region, he said, citing pro-Iran forces in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.

Washington, on the other hand, is “trying to reduce the influence and authority of these militias,” Alshamary said.

The Iraqi state has repeatedly condemned rocket and drone attacks, but has been unable to prosecute one of the perpetrators, Alshamary said.

Such incidents have escalated in Iraq and Syria as the US and Iran engage in delicate negotiations aimed at reviving the 2015 agreement on nuclear activities in Tehran, which was thwarted in 2018 by the Trump administration.