The fall of the Assad government in December 2024 has sent shockwaves through Iraq. It was a major loss for the pro-Iran Hashd known as the Islamic Resistance who’d gone there in 2011 at the direction of Iran to support Damascus and used the country to launch attacks upon American forces stationed there and Israel. That raises the question of why the Resistance didn’t put up a major fight to try to preserve the regime.
As soon as the rebels began their offensive against the Syrian regime there were reports of Iraqis going to its rescue. On December 2 the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that some 200 Iraqi fighters entered the country from Anbar province including members of Kataib Hezbollah. That was confirmed by Reuters that quoted two Syrian military sources that said pro-Iran groups were moving into Syria from Iraq. The next day Reuters added that 100s of Hashd fighters were flowing across the border since December 1. Videos began appearing on social media of Iraq fighters saying they were in Syria.
This was denied by the Hashd Commission head Falah Fayad and the Interior Ministry but the Hashd was never under the control of the Iraqi government. Instead they follow their individual leaders instead.
There were of course Iraqi forces already in the nation. That included members of Badr, Harakat Hezbollah Al-Nujaba, Asaib Ahl Al-Haq, Kataib Hezbollah, Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Brigade, Sayid al-Shuhada and the Imam Ali Brigades who had all been sent by Iran when the civil war started to back Assad.
By December 6 the Resistance suffered a setback when the Bukamal border crossing between Anbar province and Syria was seized by the Syrian Democratic Forces. This was the main crossing point used by Tehran and its allies.
There were also some rumblings of divisions amongst the Resistance. Middle East Eye which uses many pro-Iran sources claimed that one Hashd commander said going to Syria was a trap and that some factions had rejected calls from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to help Assad.
More importantly the rebels moved so quickly it was hard for the Resistance to get mobilized. Iraqi analysts claimed that the pro-Iran factions began pulling out of Syria on December 6 just five days after they started moving into the country, and Assad fled on December 8. Events had moved so fast the Resistance never seemed able to establish any kind of front against the rebels or get enough men into the country.
This was a huge loss for Iran and its allies. Fighting for Assad was a major struggle for these groups for over a decade. Syria was also used by Iran to gain access to Lebanon and its ally Hezbollah. Hezbollah in turn was used to support the Iraqi Hashd since the start of the U.S. occupation when it trained militiamen and then sent advisors and weapons when they became the Hashd in 2014 and the war with the Islamic State began. Syria was also being used to attack U.S. troops who were backing the country’s Kurds as well as Israel after the Gaza War began. Many factions and parties within the Iraqi government are debating about what will happen next both within Syria and Iraq.
SOURCES
Al Aalem, “How will Iraq participate in the Syrian war?” 12/2/24
Asharq Al-Awsat, “Iraq Deploys Armored Vehicles to Border with Syria,” 12/2/24
Buratha News, “Islamic Resistance in Iraq: The decision to evacuate and withdraw from Syria is strategic and came through the coordination the resistance as a whole,” 12/11/24
Al Hurra, “Ambiguity over the involvement of Iraqi militias in the ongoing developments in Syria,” 12/7/24
Kurdistan 24, “US Holds Iran Responsible for Iraqi Militias’ Movement into Syria to Support Assad Regime,” 12/5/24
Al Mada, “Baghdad on the Borders … Factions Demand Direct Intervention in Syria and Voices Reject Implementing Iran’s Agenda,” 12/4/24
Middle East Monitor, “Iran-backed groups move through Iraq towards Syria to support regime,” 12/5/24
Al Rafidain, “Sayid al-Shuhada Brigades Militias: Attacking Damascus is a threat to the Axis of Resistance,” 12/2/24
Reuters, “Iraq will not be just a ‘spectator’ in Syria, prime minister says,” 12/3/24
- “Pro-Iranian militias enter Syria from Iraq to aid beleaguered Syrian army,” 12/2/24
Al-Salhy, Suadad, “Inside the Iraqi factions’ decision to keep out of Syria,” Middle East Eye, 12/6/24
Shafaq News, “Iraqi factions withdraw from Syria towards Al-Qaim and news of the SDF controlling the Al-Bukamal crossing,” 12/6/24
- “Iraqi Interior Ministry to Shafaq News: The movement of factions on the Syrian border is “Facebook talk,”” 12/2/24
Al Sumaria, “After the tensions in Aleppo and Idlib, the Popular Mobilization Forces deny entering Syria,” 12/2/24
- “Armed convoys and unknown aircraft attacking them … What is happening near the Iraqi border?” 12/4/24
- “The Axis Gates between Iraq and Syria are in the hands of the enemies .. Where did the factions go and what alternative routes do they have?” 12/7/24
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