Citing Western diplomats, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper has now claimed in its reports that recent IDF strikes hit ‘Iranian’ targets northeast of Baghdad.
In recent years, the number of IDF air strikes hitting allegedly targeting Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah has steadily risen in Syria. If confirmed, this latest development in Iraq could signal a disturbing development clear expansion of Israel’s illegal lethal air operations.
The target in question is a base known as Camp Ashraf, in question was formerly used by the notorious MEK (People’s Mujahedin of Iran) the terrorist organization championed by the likes of John McCain and John Bolton, who they hoped could overthrow the current Iranian government. Camp Ashraf has since been appropriated by the Hashd al-Shaabi aka Popular Mobilization Units militias which are under the direct command of Iraq’s government. The Hashd, numbering around 120,000 nationwide, are mostly comprised of Shia members, although Sunni, Christian and Yazidi brigades are also part of the paramilitary array.
If reports are true, then Israel’s latest act aggression against neighboring Iraq has the potential to trigger a wider conflict in the region…
Illustrative: An Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet takes part in a graduation ceremony for IAF pilots at the Hatzerim base in Israel’s Negev desert on December 26, 2018. (Jack Guez/AFP)
South Front reports…
Israel has expanded its operations against ‘Iranian targets’ to Iraq employing F-35 jets, Asharq Al-Awsat, an Arabic-language newspaper published in London, reported on July 30 citing Western diplomatic sources.
According to the report, an Israeli F-35 warplane was behind a July 19 strike on a supposed rocket depot at the ‘Camp Ashraf’ military base of the Popular Mobilization Units.
Camp Ashraf is located around 80 km from the Iranian border and 40 km north-east of Baghdad.
The Saudi-based al-Arabiya network claimed at the time that members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps and Hezbollah had been killed in the strike. Nonetheless, these reports were denounced by Iraqi sources.
UPDATE: U.S. officials confirmed that it was Israel who was behind the airstrikes, targeting bases and ammo depots of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) in late July and August, according to a New York Times report on August 22.
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