Al-Muqawama al-Islamiyah fi al-Iraq (the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, muqawama meaning resistance) Islamic Resistance in Iraq is a term used to describe the operations of all Iran-backed militias in Iraq, including strikes into Syria & Israel during the Oct conflict between Israel & Hamas. In response to Israel's large-scale attacks on Gaza Strip, armed Iraqi factions aligned w Iran have pursued tens of attacks on military bases hosting US forces in Iraq & Syria under the name of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. Who is this group and their goal? Islamic Resistance in Iraq vowed to expel US troops & anti U.S. targets in Iraq & Syria, coming from the U.S. role in the Gaza crisis. "The Iraqi Islamic Resistance decided to liberate Iraq militarily; this matter has been settled, blessed be the Mujahideen. There will be no stopping, no ceasefire, & no retreat," Akram Al-Kaabi, leader of the Iran-backed militia Harakat al-Nujaba, said on 1 Nov in a post on the X platform. He also threatened that the next phase of attacks would be "greater". Immediately, Ashab Al-Kahaf, another Iraqi militia that had announced multiple drone & missile attacks targeting bases hosting US forces in Iraq, joined Al-Kaabi's call to fight against the US & the coalition forces in Iraq. AK is the oldest of the current militia facade groups, first appearing in 2019 & remaining continually active ever since. Specialization of Ashab Al-Kahaf is domestic (Iraq-focused) counter-U.S. ops. Since 17 Oct, Iraqi militias claimed responsibility for several Katyusha rocket & drone attacks on at least 3 US bases in Iraq & US base in Syria, announcing the end of a year-long fragile ceasefire as a direct consequence of DC's support for Israel's war on Gaza. Who is behind the Islamic Resistance in Iraq? The balance of available evidence suggests that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps plays a role in coordinating the Islamic Resist. in Iraq brand. Iraqi armed groups tend to jealously guard their individual identities and the credit they derive (directly or via facade groups linked to them) from attacks, so their willingness to submerge these identities & even recant an individual group attack claim suggests that a higher power is coordinating them. "The Islamic Resist. in Iraq" is an umbrella brand matching the nomenclature that all Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups have previously used to describe themselves, often as the prefix to their specific group names. Moreover, top groups such as Kataib Hezbollah (KH) have not made separate or competing claims for attacks in their typical areas of ops. Therefore, it is highly likely that groups like KH, Asaib Ahl al-Haq & Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada consider themselves part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq brand. Targeting US bases On the night of Nov 9-10, pro-Iranian groups launched several kamikaze UAVs of the Samad, Murad-5 and Qasef-2K families, as well as an Aqsa-1 ballistic missile in the direction of US military facilities in provinces of Ninewa and Anbar. One of the drones hit a fuel & lubricants warehouse at the Al-Harir location; no casualties reported. Pentagon reported that 56 US soldiers wounded in more than 46 attacks against US bases in Iraq and Syria as of Nov 9,2023. The US has some 900 troops in Syria & 2,500 in Iraq as part of efforts to combat the Islamic State (ISIS), which once held significant territory in both countries, was pushed back by local forces supported by international air strikes. US has also treated the attacks with extreme secrecy, to avoid the repercussions of admitting real losses in these attacks. Pentagon has released a video of US airstrike on Nov 9,2023, which was carried out by 2 F-15Es, was intended to send a msg to Tehran that it should instruct the militias it supports to cease their attacks A declassified vid from a US drone that was released Nov. 9 shows the target was a weapons storage facility at Maysulun, Syria per Pentagon used by the Iranian-backed militias. “If the attacks against our forces don’t decrease or stop, we will take additional measures,” Sect of Defense Lloyd Austin said Israel was also targeted On 2 Nov, Telegram channels affiliated with Iran-backed militias disseminated a declaration from the Islamic Resist. in Iraq, in which they took credit for an assault on a strategically "significant Israeli target" located along the shores of the Dead Sea in a show of solidarity with our fellow compatriots in Gaza & in response to the attacks of Israel on the Gaza Strip.