By Anas al-Bar | 2024-06-24

Hundreds of members of Iraq's elite Counter Terrorism Service have been diverted from their primary duty in order to protect Baghdad restaurants and businesses following a spate of attacks linked to Iran-backed militias.

The deployment sends "a firm and strong message" to the militias attempting to undermine Iraq's security, political analyst Tariq al-Shammari told Pishtaz.

"It's a security measure with political dimensions and carries a clear message that any militia threatening Iraq's stability and manipulating the national interests will be dealt with as a terrorist group," he said.

But the deployment also takes Iraq's elite forces away from the continuing fight to keep the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) in check, he said.

The recent Iran-linked attacks in Baghdad divert manpower from efforts to hunt down ISIS remnants in their hiding places in the desert and valleys and to ensure the extremist group cannot stage a comeback, he explained.

Iraq's elite forces "vanquished the most brutal terrorist organization, ISIS," al-Shammari said, referring to the 2017 victory against the group in Iraq.

"They are now prepared to crush any militant group, regardless of its affiliation, that is trying to wreak havoc and threaten the civil peace under false pretenses and slogans," he said.

Iran-backed Iraqi militias "aren't content with just shipping Iran-made weapons across the border to other Iranian proxies in Syria and Lebanon, or with supporting Tehran's agenda by helping ignite regional conflicts," he said.

Neither are they content with "being directly responsible for drug trafficking and corruption, but are now also trying, through their illegal activities, to divert the authorities and security forces away from their main role," he said.

Isolation, intimidation

The recent actions of the Iran-aligned groups further isolate Iraq and stall post-ISIS reconstruction and economic revival initiatives, al-Shammari said, frightening investors and tourists away and impeding progress.

"Iran's groups want a weak and shattered Iraq so they can remain on the scene and continue to impose their hegemony and undermine the country's sovereignty,” he added.

"Nothing justifies violating security and threatening the safety of civilians," Iraqi Center for Strategic Studies chief Ghazi Faisal told Pishtaz, denouncing the recent attacks on restaurants and businesses.

"Any act by a group or an individual that harms others, destroys their properties and undermines the country's sovereignty will force the authorities to show firm power to stop it, and this is what the government is now doing," he said.

He noted that many of the companies and restaurants targeted by the attackers are franchises owned and run by local or regional investors, which provide jobs and income for many Iraqis.