The Guardian: US and Israel attack Iraqi militias with airstrikes and joint landings
The United States and Israel have intensified their attacks against Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, using airstrikes and special forces operations on the ground, as part of an escalating confrontation in the region.
Iran-backed militias in the Middle East have also stepped up their attacks against Israel, the United States and their allies, in response to the joint offensive carried out by Washington and Tel Aviv against Tehran, which threatens to widen the cycle of violence and chaos in the region as new armed parties enter the conflict.
Iraq has emerged as a key arena in this new confrontation, which is often taking place in secret, as Iraqi militias have carried out dozens of attacks since the start of the war last Saturday, targeting Israel and US military bases in Iraq and Jordan.
In recent days, these groups have also targeted infrastructure belonging to Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.
According to analysts and former intelligence officials familiar with the dossier, the United States and Israel are trying to undermine the capabilities of pro-Iranian militias in Iraq through precision airstrikes, landings, and special missions on the ground.
Since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iraq has become an arena of indirect conflict between Washington and its allies and Iran on the other, but the current Iraqi leadership is trying to avoid being drawn into the current confrontation.
Most of these militias are made up of fighters from Iraq’s Shia majority, and operate under the direction of senior IRGC officers.
In a sign of the escalating proxy war in the region, officials in Washington have indicated that they are considering the possibility of mobilizing Iranian Kurdish opposition fighters, possibly using them in operations targeting northwestern Iran.
In recent days, several Iranian-backed armed factions have claimed responsibility for attacks on the US base at Erbil airport in northern Iraq, while drones and missiles have been fired from sites in western Iran towards targets in Jordan, while militias in southern Iraq have fired a missile towards Kuwait.
In a joint statement issued Thursday, the factions warned European countries not to join the war, threatening to target their forces and bases in Iraq and the region.
The official Iraqi News Agency reported that security forces foiled an attempt to launch rockets from the southern province of Basra targeting a neighboring country, and confiscated a mobile launch pad carrying two missiles that were ready to be launched.
An Israeli military spokesman confirmed that drones had been launched from Iraq towards Israel in recent days, but noted that they were in limited numbers.
In what appeared to be a covert response to these moves, militia bases south of Baghdad and near the cities of Nasiriyah and Basra were attacked by small suicide drones, killing 15 fighters, most of them members of Kataib Hezbollah, one of Iraq’s strongest pro-Iranian factions.
