Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has set up secretive new cells in Iraq to carry out attacks on Gulf countries, bypassing established militia networks to avoid detection, eight Iraqi sources told Reuters.
The newer groups established by the IRGC ‘appear smaller, more ideologically hardened and more tightly controlled, reflecting Iran’s need to conserve resources amid economic strain’, said Jasim Al Bahadli, a retired Iraqi army general who is also an expert on Shi’ite armed groups.
Three or four cells, each comprising about 10 elite Iraqi fighters, launched at least seven drone attacks from desert locations near the southern cities of Basra and Samawa against sites in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE between April 20 and May 17, three of the sources said.
A number of their members were drawn from Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of hardline Shi’ite factions with thousands of fighters.
But the new groups operate outside its command structure, reporting directly to the IRGC, according to the sources, who include two Iraqi military officials, another security official and five local militia commanders.
The establishment of the new Iraqi cells, which has not previously been reported, reflects a shift in IRGC tactics aimed at preserving Iran’s ability to project force across the region at a time when its armed proxy groups are greatly diminished and its own military and economic resources are depleted, the five militia commanders said.
New groups that emerged in Iraq during the conflict, often operating under unfamiliar names and with minimal public profiles, carried out at least three drone attacks targeting Kuwait, two targeting Saudi Arabia and two aimed at the UAE, the three Iraqi security sources said, citing a combination of human intelligence, intercepted communications and evidence gathered from launch sites.
Targets included Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem Air Base, where US forces are deployed, and a military terminal at the country’s international airport, the sources said without elaborating.
The attacks aimed at Saudi Arabia and the UAE were intercepted, according to the sources who could not confirm the intended targets.
Reuters could not independently verify their accounts.
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