Unknown aircraft strikes Syria, killing 18 Iran-backed fighters

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – At least 18 Iran-backed militants died after unknown aircraft bombed their bases in eastern Syria late Sunday night.

The strikes against militias supported by Iran took place Al Bukamal in the eastern Deir Ezzour province near the Iraqi border, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). 

“There were sounds of several explosions,” the observatory published. 

The pro-Syrian opposition group said it is unknown who carried out the attack, however some accused Israel of doing so. 

Since the beginning of the war in Syria in 2011, Israel has conducted regular strikes in Syria, most of them against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets. Israel has long warned it will not accept Iran entrenching itself  militarily neither in Syria nor in Iraq.

On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces did not admit to carrying out the attack, but said Iran-backed militias fired at Israel from within Syria. 

A number of rockets were fired from #Syria toward #Israel overnight, all failing to hit Israeli territory.

The rockets were launched by Shiite militias operating under the command of the Iranian Quds Force.

We hold the Syrian regime responsible for events taking place in Syria.

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 9, 2019

Israel’s targeting of Iranian targets in Syria is part of the conflict between the Islamic Republic and the Jewish state. US tensions with Iran are likewise at a high following the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and several security incidents in the Persian Gulf this year.

In recent months, Israel has all but admitted that they have targeted many bases and weapons depots in Iraq that belongs to the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), also known as Hashd al-Shaabi. Israel’s conflict with the PMF stems from the considerable amount of  support Iran gives to many PMF groups.

There were unconfirmed claims in Arabic-language media on Sunday that Israel bombed PMF groups in Al Bukamal. 

However, no statement has been released by the PMF or the Iraqi government.

The PMF operate in Syria as part of Iraq’s efforts to bolster border security to prevent Islamic State (ISIS) fighters from  crossing into Iraqi territory. Baghdad’s concern for its national  security rose when the US announced they plan to pull out of Syria while ISIS remnants are still active in the area.

PMF units have various degrees of alignment with Iran. Some, such as the al-Nujaba Movement and Kataib Hezbollah, are known to fight in Syria under Iranian leadership to prop up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces

Formally incorporated into Iraq’s armed forces in 2016 following a parliamentary bill, the PMF are officially under the control of Iraqi Prime minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi. A falling out between  previous prime minister Haider al-Abadi and PMF leader and National Security Advisor Falih Fayyadh is widely credited with helping Abdul-Mahdi obtain support for the prime ministership as a  technocrat.

The almost entirely Shiite Muslim PMF paramilitaries were formed in 2014 based on a fatwa, or religious decree, by Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the highest  Shiite authority in Iraq, as ISIS began looming uncomfortably close to Baghdad.

While many of the PMFs soldiers are individuals who responded to the threat of ISIS, many had fought against US forces during its occupation of Iraq, and some received Iranian training and funding.

On July 1, Abdul-Mahdi decreed July 31 as the deadline for all the PMF groups to integrate into the Iraqi army in an attempt to bring them under centralized state control. 

However, Fayyadh requested for a two-month postponement, which delayed the deadline of the decree to September 30.