| 2021 Baghdad clashes | |||
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| Part of the 2021–2022 Iraqi political crisis | |||
 Green Zone, Baghdad | |||
| Date | 5 November 2021 | ||
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The 2021 Baghdad clashes were a civil conflict between Iraqi protesters and Iraqi security forces following the 2021 Iraqi election. The protestors were supporters of Iran-backed militias and political parties. [1] The clashes left two dead and more than 125 injured.
The violence was fueled by the results of the 2021 Iraqi election which took place in October. Supporters of pro-Iranian groups, which suffered large losses in the polls, tried to storm the Green Zone, they threw stones at security forces, who fired tear gas and shot in the air to disperse the crowd. The protestors were mainly people affiliated with Iran-backed militias and Pro-Iran political parties. Some of the militias were Kata'ib Hezbollah, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Badr Organization (militia wing), Kata'ib al-Imam Ali and Quwat al-Shaheed al-Sadr (militia wing of the Islamic Dawa Party), which are all part of the PMF. Some of the political parties were the Islamic Dawa Party, and the Fatah Alliance, which includes the Badr Organisation (political wing), the Al-Sadiqoun Bloc (the political wing of Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq), and much more, the Fatah Alliance are all close allies of the PMF. [2] [3] [4] [5]
It was the first major clash between in Iraq since the election. Protesters threw stones and tried storming into the Green Zone, an area in Baghdad which holds all government buildings and embassies. Protesters threw projectiles and blocked all access to the Green Zone, until police pushed them out. Police fired at the protesters and also used tear gas. Security forces were accused of burning tents set up by protesters. [6]
The clashes left 125 people injured and two people dead. 21 protesters were injured by smoke inhalation, and nine police officers were hurt from getting stones thrown at them. [7] Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi ordered a full investigation into the events, while President Barham Salih called for restraint. Nouri Al-Maliki, former Prime Minister of Iraq, said on Twitter that “protesters were ‘claiming their legitimate rights’, but should not have fueled the violence and should’ve avoided provoking security forces in the first place”. Qais al-Khazali, leader of the Iran-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq, condemned the violence and urged justice for the wounded demonstrators. In Khazali’s own words, “Whoever they were, they must be held accountable”, referring to the security forces. [8]
Two days later on the 7 November, an assassination attempt was made on Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi via a drone strike. The PM survived the attack unharmed but resulted in six of his bodyguards being injured. The security forces opened fire on demonstrators, leading to at least two deaths. The assassination attempt was connected to these protests, as a militia source who requested to remain anonymous said it was done by a Shia militia, most likely Kataib Hezbollah or Asaib Ahl al-Haq. The weapons used in the assassination attempt were made in Iran. [9] [10] [5]
Al-Qa'im is an Iraqi border town located nearly 400 km (248 mi) northwest of Baghdad near the Syrian border and situated along the Euphrates River, and located in the Al Anbar Governorate. It has a population of about 74,100 and it's the center of the Al-Qa'im District.
The term militia in contemporary Iraq refers to armed groups that fight on behalf of or as part of the Iraqi government, the Mahdi Army and Badr Organization being two of the biggest. Many predate the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, but some have emerged since, such as the Facilities Protection Service. The 2003 invasion of Iraq by United States-led forces undermined the internal order in the country and brought about, among other things, the establishment of several pro-Iranian militias affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's Quds Force. The militias were set up with the purpose of driving the U.S. and Coalition forces out of Iraq and establishing Iranian involvement in the country. Prominent among the militias are Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Kata'ib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba.
Special Groups (SGs) is a designation given by the United States military to the cell-based Shi'a paramilitary organizations operating within Iraq, backed by Iran. According to the United States these groups are funded, trained, and armed by the Iranian Quds Force, part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to the United States Department of Defense, 603 American troops in total were confirmed to have been killed by IRGC-backed Shia militias during the Iraq War.
Kata'ib Hezbollah or the Hezbollah Brigades, is a radical Iraqi Shiite paramilitary group which is a part of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), staffing the 45th, 46th, and 47th Brigades. During the Iraq War (2003–11), the group fought against Coalition forces. It has been active in the War in Iraq (2013–2017) and the Syrian civil war (2011–present). The group was commanded by Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis until he was killed in a US drone attack in 2020. Thereafter, he was replaced by Abdul Aziz al-Muhammadawi, as the new leader of the PMF. KH seeks to establish an Iran-aligned government in Iraq, expel American forces from the country, and advance the regional and international interests of Iran in Iraq and the region. The group is responsible for killing hundreds of U.S. soldiers and takes a central part in carrying out attacks against U.S. targets in Iraq and acts as part of the Axis of Resistance. Kata'ib Hezbollah has received extensive training, funding, logistic support, weapons, and intelligence from the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Qais Hadi Sayed Hasan al-Khazali is an Iraqi politician and militant leader who is the founder and Secretary-General of the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, an Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitary organization and political party. He is best known as the founder and leader of the Iran-backed Special Groups in Iraq from June 2006 until his capture by British forces in March 2007. As head of the Special Groups, Khazali directed arms shipment, formation of squads to participate in fighting, and insurgent operations, most notably the 20 January 2007 attack on American forces in Karbala. A former follower of Muqtada al-Sadr, he was expelled from the Mahdi Army in 2004 for giving "unauthorized orders" and founded his own group: Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) also known as the "Khazali Network" that was later designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. Department of State. During his incarceration, Akram al-Kaabi became acting commander of the organization until his release.
Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, also known as the Khazali Network, is a radical Iraqi Shi'a political party and paramilitary organization active in the Iraqi insurgency and Syrian Civil War. During the Iraq War it was known as Iraq's largest "Special Group", and is a part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in the 41st, 42nd, and 43rd Brigades, cooperating with the Iraqi government in its fight against ISIS.
On 22 August 2014, Shia militants killed at least 73 people in an attack on the Sunni Musab bin Omair mosque in the Imam Wais village of Diyala Province, Iraq. The attack occurred during Jumu'ah and at the time of the attack, there were about 150 worshippers at the mosque. The attack took place during the Northern Iraq offensive by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) against the Iraqi government. The attack was blamed on Shiite militias fighting alongside the Iraqi army against ISIL. In 2020 an Iraqi court found the militants to be not guilty.
The Iranian intervention in Iraq has its roots in the post-2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies, when the infrastructure of the Iraqi armed forces, as well as intelligence, were disbanded in a process called "de-Ba'athification" which allowed militias with close ties to Tehran to join the newly reconstituted army.
The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) or Al-Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as the People's Mobilization Committee (PMC) and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization composed of approximately 67 different armed factions, with around 230,000 fighters that are mostly Shia Muslim groups, but also include Sunni Muslim, Christian, and Yazidi groups. The Popular Mobilization Units as a group was formed in 2014 and have fought in nearly every major battle against ISIL. Many of its main militias, in particular the Shias, trace their origins to the "Special Groups", Iranian-sponsored Shi'ite groups which previously fought an insurgency against the United States and the Coalition forces, as well as a sectarian conflict against Sunni Jihadist and Ba'athist insurgents. It has been called the new Iraqi Republican Guard after it was fully reorganized in early 2018 by its then–Commander in Chief Haider al-Abadi, Prime Minister of Iraq from 2014 to 2018, who issued "regulations to adapt the situation of the Popular Mobilization fighters".
Jamal Ja'far Muhammad Ali Al Ibrahim, known by the kunyaAbu Mahdi al-Muhandis was an Iranian-Iraqi commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). At the time of his death, he was deputy chief of the PMF and regarded as one of Iraq's most powerful men.
The Fatah Alliance, also sometimes translated as the Conquest Alliance, is a political coalition in Iraq formed to contest the 2018 general election. The main components are groups involved in the Popular Mobilization Forces which is mainly a state-sponsored umbrella organization made up of Iraqi Shiite Muslims who fought from 2014 to 2017 alongside the Iraqi Army to defeat ISIL. It is led by Hadi Al-Amiri, the leader of the Badr Organization.
As sequel to protests in 2011, 2012 and 2013, Iraqi citizens have also in 2015 up until 2018 often and massively protested against the corruption and incompetence in their government which according to analysts and protesters had led to long-running problems in electricity supplies, clean water availability, Iranian interference in Iraqi politics, high unemployment, and a stagnant economy.
A series of demonstrations, marches, sit-ins and civil disobedience took place in Iraq from 2019 until 2021. It started on 1 October 2019, a date which was set by civil activists on social media, spreading mainly over the central and southern provinces of Iraq, to protest corruption, high unemployment, political sectarianism, inefficient public services and foreign interventionism. Protests spread quickly, coordinated over social media, to other provinces in Iraq. As the intensity of the demonstrations peaked in late October, protesters’ anger focused not only on the desire for a complete overhaul of the Iraqi government but also on driving out Iranian influence, including Iranian-aligned Shia militias. The government, with the help of Iranian-backed militias responded brutally, using live bullets, marksmen, hot water, hot pepper gas and tear gas against protesters, leading to many deaths and injuries.
The 2019 Israeli airstrikes in Iraq began as unidentified drone or aircraft bombings of the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) bases in Iraq starting on 19 July 2019. The strikes targeted Iranian proxy groups, based in Iraq, as well as IRGC operatives.
On 29 December 2019, the United States conducted airstrikes against Kata'ib Hezbollah's weapons depots and command centers in Iraq and Syria, reportedly killing at least 25 militiamen and wounding 55 more. The U.S. Department of Defense said the operation was in retaliation for repeated attacks on Iraqi military bases hosting Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) coalition forces, particularly the 27 December 2019 attack on a Kirkuk airbase that left an American civilian contractor dead. Kata'ib Hezbollah, an extremist Shi'ite militia funded by Iran, denied any responsibility for the attacks.
The U.S. embassy in the Green Zone of Bagdhad, Iraq, was attacked on 31 December 2019 by Kata'ib Hezbollah militiamen and their Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) supporters and sympathizers. The attack was prompted by the U.S. airstrikes on 29 December 2019 that targeted weapons depots and command and control installations of Kata'ib Hezbollah across Iraq and Syria.
Mustafa Abdul Latif Mishatat, known as Mustafa al-Kadhimi, alternatively spelt Mustafa al-Kadhimy, is an Iraqi politician, lawyer and bureaucrat and former intelligence officer who served as the Prime Minister of Iraq from May 2020 to October 2022. He previously served as columnist for several news outlets and the Director of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, originally appointed in June 2016. He briefly served as Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs in an acting capacity in 2020. The latter part of his tenure closely followed the 2022 Iraqi political crisis.
After the defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq in 2017, Iraq and the United States began discussing the partial withdrawal of American combat troops from Iraq in December 2019. In January 2020, during massive protests in Iraq, and following an escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran, the Iraqi Council of Representatives passed a non-binding measure to "expel all foreign troops from their country," including American and Iranian troops. The American Trump administration ignored the motion, but later began a partial drawdown of forces in March. U.S. combat troops have since accelerated their withdrawal from Iraq.
The 2021 Erbil rocket attacks occurred when multiple rockets were launched against Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, Iraq. On 15 February, approximately fourteen rockets were fired from an area south of the city at around 21:30 local time. Three of the rockets directly hit the U.S.-led coalition base near Erbil International Airport, while the other rockets hit residential areas and civilian facilities near the airport. Two people were killed in the attack, and an additional 13 were injured, including an American service member.
On 7 November 2021, the Iraqi Armed Forces reported that Prime Minister of Iraq Mustafa Al-Kadhimi survived an assassination attempt that morning. An explosive-laden drone attacked his Baghdad residence while two were shot down. Several members of his security personnel were injured. No one has claimed responsibility, although the general consensus is that it was perpetrated by pro-Iran militias. The assassination attempt was probably connected to the pro-Iran militia supporters who caused the Baghdad clashes two days before.
