Iraq sends four army brigades to Basra to rein in proxy groups

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Saturday, 31 October 2026, sent four army brigades to Basra province on the border with Kuwait. According to Iraqi security and political sources who spoke to Alhurra, the deployment followed intelligence indicating that armed groups linked to the Islamic Republic in Basra were planning an attack on Kuwait. The Iraqi government has not yet officially announced the move.

An Iraqi security source said the groups intended, if the war between the United States and the Islamic Republic resumed, to launch drones from Basra towards Kuwait and carry out ground attacks along the border. According to an Iraqi political source, the intelligence was passed to Baghdad by one of the member states of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council. The identity of the groups involved in the plan has not been disclosed.

Iraqi army chief of staff travels to Basra

Abdul Amir Yarallah, the Iraqi army's chief of staff, travelled to Basra on Sunday, 1 November, and met Governor Asaad al-Eidani and security commanders. The Basra provincial council said the meeting focused on protecting the border and preventing infiltration. Saad Harbiya, the deputy chief of staff, described the visit as part of a "redeployment of forces" and said the units stationed in Basra were carrying out their duties.

A source within Iraq's Shiite Coordination Framework said Iraqi intelligence and the Iraqi army are coordinating with the Persian Gulf countries to prevent attacks from Iraqi soil.

Basra, a launchpad for proxy attacks

Since the war began on 28 February 2026, Basra's border areas have repeatedly been used to launch drones and missiles at US forces in Kuwait. A group called "Saraya Awliya al-Dam", one of the groups known as the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq", claimed responsibility in March for a drone attack on Kuwait that caused no casualties. In April, Iraqi security forces foiled an attempt to fire a missile from Zubair in Basra, and protesters stormed the Kuwaiti consulate in Basra and pulled down its flag.

The Islamic Republic had earlier denied attacking civilian facilities in neighbouring countries, while the Kuwaiti government has reported attacks on its water and power facilities. Al-Zaidi has pledged to bring the weapons of armed groups under state control, and Iraq's national security adviser has extended the deadline for doing so to June 2027.

Baghdad has sent four army brigades to the Basra border to keep the Islamic Republic's war from spreading to Kuwait.