Iraqi Groups and Yemen's Houthis Claim More Joint Attacks on Israel
Jun 17, 2024
Also available in
About the Authors
The Iraqi "resistance" and their Iran-backed fellow travelers in Yemen have added a new example of jointly branded attacks to their growing list of collaborative claims.
On June 13, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of Ansar Allah (aka the Houthis), gave one of his typical televised speeches laying out the Yemeni movement's recent kinetic activities. This time, however, he claimed that the Houthis are working with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) to launch attacks against Israel from the Golan Heights: “In [the Syrian] Golan there is also the important track within the framework of the fourth stage of escalation, which is joint operations between our dear brothers the Mujahedin in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq and the Yemeni army [referring to the Houthi military]" (Figure 1).
KH Joint Ops with Other Regional Militias
The Golan claim follows a phone call that Ahmad Mohsen Faraj al-Hamidawi (aka Abu Hussein), leader of the Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah (KH), made to the Houthi leader in late May to discuss " high coordination between the axis powers, especially between Iraq and Yemen" (Figure 2). This was KH's third attempt in recent months to expand its regional role. In March and April, the militia tried to open a new front in Jordan by arming Hamas members to exploit the kingdom's anti-Israel protests. And in May, KH helped the Bahraini militia Saraya al-Ashtar launch drone strikes against Israel.
The latest cooperation with the Houthis seems to be part of this wider trend—though the militias may not be the ones driving it. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) has been orchestrating attacks by its regional muqawama (resistance) proxies throughout the Gaza war and is likely spearheading this new phase of cooperation between Iraqi militias and groups based elsewhere. Accordingly, other members of the IRI (e.g., Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba) may become involved as well.
New Iraqi-Houthi Claims
The remarks about cooperation in Golan followed two claims—issued in parallel by by the Houthis and the IRI—regarding joint operations against Israeli targets. First, the IRI claimed responsibility for two joint drone attacks against Haifa port on June 6. The Houthis made the same claim, but their statement contained more details about the purported attacks: “The [Houthis] carried out two joint military operations with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. The first targeted two ships carrying military equipment in the port of Haifa. The second targeted a ship that violated the ban on entry to the port of Haifa in occupied Palestine” (Figure 3). No footage of these purported drone strikes has been published.
A second claim of joint attacks was made on June 12. This time, the IRI noted a missile strike against “a vital target in Ashdod” and a drone attack against “an important target in the port of Haifa” (Figure 4).
It did not name the missiles purportedly used in this strike, but the launch looked similar to previous IRI launches. This is a break from the brand's style in recent months of describing missiles used in all purported attacks as the “upgraded long-range cruise missile al-Arqab." The Houthi statement about these attacks did not contain much more information than the IRI statement, apart from describing the weapons purportedly used as “winged missiles.”
Distinct Threat Streams
In light of these recent incidents, there are now three apparent streams of anti-Israel attacks originating from Iraq:
- Attacks claimed solely by the IRI
- Attacks claimed by the IRI, seemingly organized by KH, in partnership with other regional muqawama elements such as the Bahraini group Saraya al-Ashtar (an April 27 claim involving a Sammad/KAS-04-type V-wing drone) and the Houthis (June 6 and 12 claims involving unspecified drones and an unspecified cruise missile)
- Attacks claimed by Saraya Awliya al-Dam (on May 30 and June 2, 8, and 14; exclusively Shahed-101 drone strikes).
Share
