Baghdad Blame: Iraqi Officials Link Depot Blasts to Israeli Attacks

Iraqi authorities believe Israel struck two storage sites in Baghdad last week where Iranian-backed militias kept shoulder-fired air defense systems made in China.

The assessment comes from sources cited by the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday. The report stated that Tehran supplied the weapons, though it did not name the specific Chinese system involved. Officials acknowledged that parts of their findings remained unconfirmed.

One source told the newspaper that the militia choosing the location considered it difficult to detect or reach. The suspected attacks occurred shortly after the shipments arrived at both sites. A separate explosion hit a Popular Mobilization Forces base in Baghdad’s East Canal area on October 17. The PMF, a paramilitary umbrella group including many Iranian-backed factions, labeled that blast an accident. The Iraqi government promised an investigation.

The October 17 explosion injured five people and damaged a stockpile of obsolete ammunition at a headquarters. An anonymous Iraqi official said authorities were still examining the circumstances. The newspaper noted that more than a week had passed without an official update on that specific incident.

Sources indicated the mid-October blast followed an earlier event on October 1. Warehouses linked to Iran-backed groups in and around Baghdad were affected then. Those sites reportedly held drones designed for suicide attacks and reconnaissance missions. A security official stated that Iraqi authorities had not determined the exact nature of the strikes but believed Israel was responsible based on collected evidence.

This is not the first time Iraqi officials have pointed to Israel. Iranian-backed militias blamed Israeli strikes for incidents in 2019 and a strike near the border town of Albukamal, Syria. In May, The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel established a secret airstrip in Iraq during its campaign against Iran. Asharq Al-Awsat also cited unconfirmed accounts of Israeli fighter jets using Iraqi airspace near the Iranian border, supported by midair refueling aircraft.

Iran has armed Iraqi militias for years with missiles and drones capable of threatening Israel. The groups launched numerous attacks on Israel after Hamas began its war in October 2023. Since the US and Israel began airstrikes in February, Iran has sought to make Iraq a frontline in the conflict. Iran has conducted more than 1,000 strikes on the Kurdistan Region using drones and missiles. Iran and its allied militias have mounted 600 attacks across Iraq, some targeting US diplomatic sites.

The United States withdrew its forces from Iraq on September 30. That deadline was agreed with Baghdad over previous years. Washington has warned American citizens against traveling to Baghdad. The newspaper linked earlier reports of Chinese weapon supplies to Iran with the movement of similar systems to Iraq, but described that connection as unconfirmed. China’s Foreign Ministry denied those reports on July 28.

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