Iraqi terrorists claim to target Israeli power plant
Iranian pro-government Tasnim news media claimed that the “Islamic Resistance of Iraq announced that in support of the people of Gaza… it targeted the power plant of the Zionist regime in ‘Tel Aviv’ with a drone early this morning, Thursday.” This report has not been corroborated.
It included an image of an explosive-laden kamikaze drone in the report, which may have a range of up to 2,000 km. Iran has exported the Shahed 136 kamikaze drone to Yemen and Russia.
It was not clear what incident the Iranian-backed terrorist groups in Iraq were referring to. The Iranian media said that the statement shows the “continuation of these attacks to crush the enemy’s positions; it is stated that today’s operation was carried out to complete the second phase of the operation to resist the occupation and support the people of Gaza and in response to the crime and killing of the Zionists against the defenseless Palestinian civilians.”
It was also unclear what the Iranians meant by the “second phase.” Iran has sought to bring together various terrorist and proxy groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen to threaten Israel in the wake of the Hamas attack on October 7.
Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq launched a drone attack on Jordan in January, killing three Americans. The Houthis have targeted Eilat in southern Israel with drones and missiles, and shipping containers in the Bab el Mandeb strait, in an effort to disrupt global shipping in the name Palestinian solidarity.
Iraqi groups linked to Iran have been trying to attack Israel for years. Beginning around 2017, some of them also sent envoys to Lebanon to meet Hezbollah and begin coordination against Israel.
Iran helped groups in Iraq increase their drone and missile arsenals. In 2021, an Iraqi group launched a drone at Israel
during that year’s May conflict in Gaza.
Since October 2023, the Iraqi groups have claimed numerous attacks. “On Wednesday morning, the Islamic resistance of Iraq targeted Ben-Gurion airport,” Iranian media claimed. They made similar claims on March 12 and in December.