Iraqi officials suspect Israel targeted Chinese air defense systems

Iraqi security officials suspect Israel carried out strikes on two locations where Iran-backed militias stored shoulder-fired air defense systems of Chinese origin. Sources cited by the London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday said the weapons were supplied by Tehran. The strikes reportedly occurred last week, shortly after the shipments arrived at the sites.

The report did not identify the specific weapon system or provide definitive evidence for the claim. One source noted that the armed group selected the storage location because it was difficult to reach or detect. The newspaper acknowledged that parts of its account remained unconfirmed.

An explosion hit a Popular Mobilization Forces base in Baghdad's East Canal area on October 17. The PMF, an umbrella body for many Iranian-backed militias and an Iraqi government paramilitary force, described the blast as an accident. The newspaper reported that the blast hit a stockpile of obsolete ammunition and injured five people. An anonymous Iraqi official said authorities were still investigating, though more than a week had passed without an update.

Security sources linked the mid-October incident to earlier events on October 1. Warehouses linked to Iran-backed groups in and around Baghdad were affected then, reportedly holding drones for suicide attacks and reconnaissance. A security official stated that while Iraqi authorities had not fully determined the nature of the strikes, they saw enough evidence to attribute them to Israel.

This is not the first time Iraqi factions have blamed Israel for such attacks. Militias previously accused Israel of strikes in 2019 and a blow in Albukamal, Syria. In May, The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel established a secret airstrip in Iraq during its campaign against Iran. Unconfirmed accounts also described Israeli fighter jets flying through Iraqi airspace near the Iranian border with midair refueling support.

Iran has armed Iraqi militias for years, and those groups launched numerous attacks on Israel after the war began in October 2023. Since the US and Israel started airstrikes in February, Iran has used Iraq as a frontline. The country and allied militias have mounted 600 attacks across Iraq, while Iran has launched more than 1,000 strikes on the Kurdistan Region. The US withdrew its forces from Iraq on September 30.

A source in the Shi'ite Coordination Framework said ruling party leaders expected renewed war between Washington and Tehran to begin with the destruction of Iraqi faction capabilities. Most major groups in the PMF, excluding the Badr Organization, are sanctioned by the US as terrorist organizations. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of militias, published a statement claiming Iraqi airspace was being violated.