Iranian allies target Israeli interests in the Dead Sea
The Islamic Resistance Militia in Iraq announces the continuation of targeting US forces despite the strikes they are facing
Shiite militias supported by Iran, called the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq,” announced on Friday evening that they “targeted an Israeli target on the shores of the Dead Sea,” in a post on their Telegram platform. This comes after Washington accused them, at the beginning of February, of carrying out an attack on a military base on the Syrian-Jordanian border, in which 3 American soldiers were killed.
The statement said, “Elements of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq targeted a vital target for the Zionist entity on the shores of the Dead Sea,” adding that the targeting is “in support of Gaza” and in response to “the massacres committed by Israel against Palestinian civilians, including children, women, and the elderly,” referring to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip since last October 7.
In a separate statement, the same militia announced that it would continue its attacks against US forces in the country, saying that “the events of the past days have clearly shown to the Iraqi people, friends, and responsible parties that the occupying enemy (US forces) understands nothing but the language of arms.”
At the beginning of February, the White House National Security Council’s strategic communications coordinator, John Kirby, said, “We believe that the attack was planned and executed by an umbrella organization called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which includes several militias.”
Days earlier, the US Central Command announced, in a statement, the killing of 3 American soldiers in a drone attack on a base northeast of Jordan near the Syrian border. US officials, led by President Joe Biden, blamed Iran-backed groups for the attack.
Iran has rejected accusations of involvement in the mentioned attack, saying that “the resistance forces in the region do not receive instructions from Iran in their decisions and actions.”
Hezbollah Brigades, affiliated with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, attacked the United States on Friday in retaliation for strikes launched by Washington in Baghdad, the latest of which was a drone attack that killed a leader in the Brigades, indicating that this armed group has abandoned the decision to stop targeting US bases in the country.
Washington launched a drone attack on Wednesday targeting the car of a senior leader in the Hezbollah Brigades, Abou Baqir al-Saadi, whom Washington accuses of being “responsible for the direct planning and participation in attacks on US forces in the region.”
In Syria, Iran-backed militias launched a missile attack on the “Koniko” American base in Deir ez-Zor province, east of the country.
Local sources reported early Saturday that the attack on the gas field was carried out by armed groups stationed west of the Euphrates River, with a number of missiles. There was no immediate announcement of casualties from the attack, and the US side did not make any immediate comment on the attack.
On Thursday, Iranian-backed militias also launched an attack on the US base at the “Omar” oil field. The United States deploys around 2,500 soldiers in Iraq and 900 in neighboring Syria as part of the international coalition established in 2014 to combat the Islamic State organization.
