QAIM, Iraq — A white surveillance balloon floats overhead along the border between western Iraq and Syria, but the armed drones are not always so obvious.

While reported attacks in the area are often difficult to verify as media access to the area is restricted, there were reports Jan. 24 — quickly denied by Kataib Hezbollah — that a Kataib Hezbollah leader and other fighters had been killed in Qaim by a drone. 

Rockets, meanwhile, that hit Baghdad’s Green Zone — including on Jan. 26, when the US Embassy cafeteria was struck during meal time and three rockets reportedly directly hit the diplomatic facilities — are often unclaimed but presumably launched by Iran-linked armed groups also operating near the border area.

On Jan. 23 — less than a month after the US attack on Iran-linked, Shiite-led Kataib Hezbollah positions near the Iraqi-Syrian border that sparked major tensions between the United States and Iran — Brigade 45 claimed its air defenses had prevented a US drone from flying over its base in the area. The brigade is one of the Shiite-led Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) that the United States hit Dec. 29, killing 27 and injuring 51.