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On October 1, 2024, the London-based Qatari daily Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that armed Iraqi factions had recently opened recruitment bureaus in the cities of Basra and Baghdad for volunteers interested in fighting in Lebanon. The daily further stated that according to “Iraqi security sources,” there is abundant activity by the armed factions in the border area between Syria and Iraq that, they believe, includes moving troops into Syrian territory in advance of possible involvement in the fighting in Lebanon.[1]
The following is a review of the main points that appear in the Al-Araby Al-Jadeed report published on October 1, 2024:
Funeral in Baghdad for a senior official in an Iraqi militia who was recently killed in Damascus (Source: Alaraby.co.uk, October 1, 2024)
According to the article, in late September Iraqi social media accounts in Basra and in Baghdad reported on the opening of recruitment bureaus and noted that numerous volunteers had already visited them to register to fight with Hizbullah in Lebanon. The daily quoted “a senior member” in the Iran-backed Iraqi Sayyid Al-Shuhada Brigades militia – which according to the paper has “an armed wing in Syria” – as saying that the militia had already made the decision “to assist Hizbullah on the ground,” in the first hours after the assassination of Hizbullah Secretary-General Nasrallah, and that “the land of Lebanon will be a graveyard for the occupation.”
Al-Araby Al-Jadeed also quoted “Iraqi security sources in Baghdad” as saying that on September 29 and 30, there was extensive activity among the armed factions in the areas of Al-Qa'im, Makr Al-Theeb and Husaybah, adjacent to the city of Al-Bukamal, which is situated on the Syria-Iraq border. The same sources believed that this activity included moving fighters into Syria, which, they claim, indicates that a decision was made to send them to Lebanon or at least to Syria, in readiness for future involvement in the fighting.
The daily further stated that to date, none of the Islamic resistance factions in Iraq had published an official position regarding the steps they intend to take, in light of the recent developments in Lebanon. At the same time, he noted that these factions had declared in the past that they would intervene (in the fighting) on the ground, if Israel invaded Lebanon. Al-Araby Al-Jadeed also noted that the Islamic Resistance in Iraq group numbers some 70,000 operatives and includes six armed factions: the Hizbullah Brigades, the Al-Nujaba Movement, Ansar Allah Al-Awfiyaa', the Sayyid Al-Shuhada Brigades, the Imam 'Ali Brigades and the Al-Ashtar Companies.
The paper also referred to rockets launched by the factions on the previous day, that targeted the Victory Base near the Baghdad airport where U.S. forces are stationed, although as yet no organization has claimed responsibility for the attack. It also referred to the fact that the Al-Kadhimiya Mosque (a large Shi’ite Mosque and shrine located in the Kadhimiya suburb of Baghdad, Iraq) had posted one of the “battle verses” from the Quran on its various social media channels: “Permission [to fight back] is [hereby] granted to those being fought, for they have been wronged. And Allah is truly Most Capable of helping them [prevail]" (Quran 22:39).
Also notable are recent reports in the Syrian media that say that the Al-Nujaba Movement has sent “the first batch” of operatives and weaponry to Lebanon, on the order of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. (IRGC).[2] These are in addition to the recent threats from Iran-backed Iraqi militia commanders to send forces to Lebanon to attack U.S. bases and other sites.[3]
[1] Alaraby.co.uk, October 1, 2024.
[2] See MEMRI JTTM Report: Syrian Media Reports: Iran-Backed Iraqi Al-Nujaba Movement Sends 'First Batch' Of Operatives, Weaponry To Lebanon, At Order Of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC); IRGC Operatives In Eastern Syria Quit Their Posts To Avoid Being Sent To Lebanon, September 30, 2024.
