Iraq Blasts: Officials Point to Evidence Behind Suspected Israeli Strikes

Iraqi officials have identified evidence they believe ties recent strikes on arms depots to Israel, according to a report published Saturday by Asharq Al-Awsat. The London-based Arabic-language paper cited sources who said two storage sites holding Chinese-origin air defense systems supplied by Tehran were hit last week.

The report offered no specific weapon system in its account and acknowledged it could not verify parts of the material. It said one source described the location chosen by the armed group as difficult to reach or detect. The same source said the strikes followed shortly after shipments arrived at both sites.

Asharq Al-Awsat pointed to an October 17 blast at a base of the Popular Mobilization Forces in Baghdad's East Canal area. The PMF, an umbrella body of Iranian-backed militias that also operates as an Iraqi government paramilitary force, called the incident an accident. Five people were injured, and the Iraqi government has promised an investigation. An anonymous Iraqi official said authorities were still examining the circumstances, though more than a week passed without a public update.

Other sources in the report linked that blast to an October 1 incident involving warehouses tied to Iran-backed groups in and around Baghdad. The stores reportedly held drones for suicide attacks and reconnaissance missions. A security official said Iraqi authorities had not determined the nature of the strikes but had seen sufficient evidence to conclude Israel carried them out.

Iraqi factions have blamed Israel before. Militias attributed strikes in 2019 and a 2019 strike in Albukamah, Syria, near the Iraqi border to Israel. The Wall Street Journal reported in May that Israel operated a secret airstrip in Iraq during its campaign against Iran. Asharq Al-Awsat also noted conflicting and unconfirmed accounts of Israeli fighter jets flying through Iraqi airspace near the Iranian border with midair refueling support.

The report said it could not confirm a link between earlier claims of Chinese weapons supplies to Iran and the movement of the same systems to Iraq. China's Foreign Ministry denied those reports on July 28.

A source in the Shi'ite Coordination Framework said ruling party leaders had spent weeks predicting that renewed war between Washington and Tehran would begin with the total destruction of the Iraqi factions' capabilities. Most major PMF groups, except the Badr Organization, have been sanctioned by the US as terrorist organizations. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a militia collection that has attacked Israel and the US, published a statement saying Iraqi airspace was being violated.