Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
Israel has threatened Iraq over repeated drone attacks by Iran-backed armed factions from its territories, the London-based Saudi Elaph news site reported on November 3.
Unnamed officials told the site that satellites have monitored Tehran working to transfer ballistic missiles and related military equipment from Iran to Iraqi territory, with the presumed goal of using them in an expected upcoming attack on Israel.
Elaph’s report said that Israel was monitoring and identifying targets belonging to the Iran-backed factions, as well as Iraqi state targets, and has warned Baghdad that it must rein in these factions and stop them from using its territory to launch attacks.
The report came after the U.S.-based Axios news site said on October 31, citing unnamed Israeli officials, that Israeli intelligence was preparing for an attack in the coming days involving a large number of ballistic missiles and suicide drones launched by Iran allies in Iraq.
The expected attack would be Iran’s response to the October 26 Israeli strikes on its territories. Several Iranian military targets, including air defenses and missile sites, were hit and four officers were killed.
The strikes were in themselves a response to a large-scale ballistic missile strike launched by Tehran that targeted Israel on October 1.
An umbrella group of Iran-backed factions in Iraq, known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), began carrying out attacks against Israel as well as against United States forces in Iraq and neighboring Syria last October in response to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
The group escalated its attacks against Israel in September in response to Israel’s ongoing aerial campaign and ground operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The IRI’s attacks are becoming more effective, with Hebrew media acknowledging damage and casualties more than once in recent weeks.
On November 3, the group announced that it had launched drones at “vital Israeli targets” in the Jordan Valley and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. The Israeli military confirmed that a drone had infiltrated into Golan, but didn’t report any interceptions or impacts.
Elaph’s report came after an unnamed regional security official told The Associated Press on November 1 that the recent uptake in drone attacks could soon push Israel to launch a retaliatory attack against Iraq. This would be a very dangerous escalation by Israel.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
