Can Israel deter the Iraqi militias? It would seem that they cannot easily be defeated because they are so large and there are so many of them.
Basically, the Iraqi militias consist of various pieces of the larger Popular Mobilization Units. These are a collection of Iranian-backed groups that grew out of the war on ISIS. However, many of them have deeper roots. Kataib Hezbollah, for instance, is closely linked to the IRGC in Iran. Some of the militias have thousands of members and are arranged into dozens of brigades. This means that attacking the militias themselves is not a welcome prospect for fighting them.
In the past, the militias have targeted US forces. After October 7, they carried out more than 100 attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria. The US responded several times. In April there was an explosion at the Kalsu base of the militias in Iraq’s Babil province. The militias maintain many bases and depots in Iraq. Some of these sites house their rockets and drones. The militias are believed to have brought ballistic missiles to western Iraq back in 2018. The militias also maintain networks across the border in Syria to move weapons into the Middle Euphrates River Valley. This method of movement of weapons can result in an arms flow to Hezbollah.
In the past, the militias have complained of attacks harming their bases in Iraq. For instance, back in 2019, there were several explosions at the bases of the Hashd al-Shaabi, the Arabic name for the Popular Mobilization Units. READ MORE
