Pro-Iran Militias Mark 2 Years Since Soleimani’s Death With Attacks on US Troops

The second anniversary of the drone attack in Baghdad that killed Iran’s top commander Qassem Soleimani was commemorated this week in Iran, Iraq and Syria. 

It was a week that saw rocket attacks on bases hosting US troops in Syria and Iraq, and also a huge backlash on social media in Iran over Soleimani’s daughter using an expensive US-made phone while crying revenge for her father’s death.

A series of attacks targeting US bases, one in western Iraq, and another in eastern Syria were reported without inflicting any casualties, according to the US defence department. The US has 2,500 troops in Iraq and around 1,000 more in Syria. 

Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby told reporters that the US retains the right of self-defence. “Clearly, our men and women remain in harm’s way,” he said.

A group calling itself Qassem al-Jabarin claimed responsibility for the attack in Iraq, but the usual suspects are the most hardcore, Iran-backed militias operating in the region, which are Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah. The groups were designated as a terrorist organisation by the US treasury department in 2019 through the “Iranian Proxies Terrorist Sanctions Act.” The groups carry out numerous attacks under different front names to avoid direct responsibility. 

In Tehran on Monday, Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi gave a televised speech at an event dedicated to marking the day of Soleimani's death and asked that former president Donald Trump be “prosecuted and killed” for authorising the attack, otherwise, Iran would seek "revenge" he added. Pro-Iranian government accounts on Twitter –a platform which is banned in Iran – pushed out pro-Soleimani sentiments for days, leading to #hero trending worldwide.

Soleimani was praised in Iran for his supposed humble lifestyle, but the focus this week shifted to his daughter Zaynab after a photo of her on social media holding an iPhone went viral. 

The death of Soleimani, Iran’s most experienced overseas commander, undoubtedly harmed Iran’s military influence in the region, and the country does not have the capabilities to directly reciprocate. 

Still, Iranian-backed militias – many of which were honed by Soleimani – continue to disrupt the stability that the US-backed Iraqi government has been longing for over two decades. 

The US military is also less likely to engage in attacks on Iran-backed militias in Syria and Iraq, while the two sides make progress on the eighth round of talks held in Vienna to return to the Iran nuclear deal. 

Soleimani rose through Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps ranks and led its elite Quds forces that oversaw the Islamic Republic’s military involvement in Syria and Iraq. During his last years, he played a vital role in defeating the Islamic State group in the region between 2014 and 2017 by leading a paramilitary group with thousands of fighters to defeat ISIS in Iraq. 

His death marked high historical tensions between the US and Iran. The escalation took the two countries to the brink of war. Iran retaliated with “Operation Martyr Soleimani” and fired 17 missiles targeting US bases in Iraq, but one of the rockets struck Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 bounded to Kyiv and killed all 176 people on board.

More than 56 mourners died, and 200 were injured in stampedes at the general’s funeral processions across Iran.