The past week has seen a sharp escalation in attacks in Iraq, targeting the U.S. Embassy and the Victoria Base near Baghdad Airport, alongside airstrikes that struck residential homes and killed a number of Iranian advisers and senior figures in “Kata’ib Hezbollah.”
The escalation began with a precision strike in the heart of Baghdad. Several Iranian advisers were killed in a raid on a home in the upscale al-Jadriya district, including a figure known as “Ansari,” an expert in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, according to an Iraqi Interior Ministry source who spoke to MBN. Four other Iranians were also killed in the strike, amid a blackout by the Popular Mobilization Forces on the incident’s details.
Information obtained by MBN indicates the targeted home had been rented by the Iranian Embassy months earlier under the cover of hosting “advisers working at the embassy.” Security sources, however, say the role of these individuals extended to managing rocket and drone strikes against U.S. interests in Iraq. An Iraqi source who previously served as a security adviser to the government told MBN, “The bombardment operations being carried out are managed by Iranian advisers to ensure the success of the strikes.”
At the same time, the information suggests that faction operations in 2026 have shifted to a model of “decentralized command” under an Iranian leader whose name MBN could not verify, but who assists the commander of the Quds Force, General Esmail Qaani.
Following the strike, “Kata’ib Hezbollah,” designated a terrorist organization by Washington, announced a temporary suspension of attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad under certain conditions, although it remains unclear to what extent the factions will adhere to the pause.
According to information obtained by MBN from Shiite political sources, the suspension of faction attacks came as a result of a move led by the Iraqi government, supported by influential parties within the Shiite Coordination Framework.
On the ground, attacks by armed factions continued in other areas, targeting the headquarters of the National Intelligence Service and a facility belonging to the Counter-Terrorism Service in Baghdad, resulting in fatalities and marking a significant escalation that directly affected state institutions.
Despite security agencies having precise information on the perpetrators of the attacks, they face difficulties in detaining them due to political pressures and fears of retaliatory responses. In a notable incident, an officer and faction members accused of carrying out or facilitating attacks were released hours after their arrest following interventions by entities linked to the factions, according to an Iraqi officer who spoke to MBN. An operation targeting Popular Mobilization Forces elements in Baghdad was also canceled after threats of escalation.
This paralysis reflects, according to Iraq’s former U.N. representative Faisal al-Istrabadi, a reality in which militias in Iraq have long acted as a “fifth column” within the state, amid government institutions “unable to dismantle or confront them without risking a slide into internal conflict.”
As a direct result of this security deterioration, foreign diplomatic missions have begun reducing their presence in Baghdad. Staff from the Saudi and German embassies departed, followed by the Qatari embassy. A Saudi diplomatic source told MBN that the embassy’s evacuation occurred hours after a hotel in Baghdad was targeted. NATO also announced the withdrawal of its personnel from Iraq after the security situation in the capital deteriorated.
The United States took the most consequential step, placing its mission in Baghdad under “ordered departure” and urging the Iraqi government to act swiftly to safeguard diplomatic facilities, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told MBN.
The article is a translation of the original Arabic.
