Iranian-backed militias in Iraq claimed a new drone attack on Israel on October 6. The attack was the latest in an increasing number of drone attacks by Iranian-backed groups.
A drone from Iraq killed two Israeli soldiers last week, an example of how the weapon systems are becoming more dangerous.
The report about the Iraqi attack came as Iran appeared on edge about an Israeli response to the Iranian October 1 ballistic missile attack.
Iran has tried to highlight its multi-front war on Israel to show it can strike back and keep up pressure on Israel. This was apparent on October 6 as rockets were fired from Gaza at Israeli communities, and there were numerous attacks on northern Israel by Hezbollah.
The Iraqi groups that back Iran’s war are called the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq,” an umbrella name for several pro-Iranian groups that are sometimes called “Shia militias,” the Popular Mobilization Units.
“The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has conducted a drone attack against the occupied Golan Heights in southwestern Syria,” the report claimed. It also said that the drone targeted the Golan.
A drone threat also caused a false alarm on October 5. It was not clear if the Iraqi drone made it to Israeli airspace.
The IDF said at five in the morning that “over the past hour, two UAVs launched from the East toward Israeli territory were successfully intercepted by an Israeli Navy Missile Boat in the northern area of the Mediterranean Sea. No injuries were reported. In addition, a UAV launched from the East was intercepted by the IAF off the coast of Gush Dan. No injuries were reported.”
The reference to 'east' appeared to refer to the Iraqi threat. The trajectory of the drones, which ended up over the sea, is interesting.
The Iraqi militias have also targeted southern Israel in the past.
“Over the past months, the Iraqi resistance had also targeted sensitive and important points in Eilat Port, located in the south of occupied Palestine. This group had previously warned in past operations that if the Zionist regime continued its attacks on the Gaza Strip, it would intensify its operations against the positions of this regime,” Iranian state media said.
Iran’s state media seeks to play up these attacks to make them seem more important than they might otherwise be. However, there is no doubt the Iraqi militias are increasing their threats and capabilities.
The Iraqi militia attempts to strike Israel with drones come as Iran is also focused on other issues. It is concerned about the Houthis in Yemen and recent strikes by US Central Command on the Iranian-backed group.
“US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted strikes on 15 Houthi targets in Iranian-backed Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen today at about 5 p.m. (Sanaa time). These targets included Houthi offensive military capabilities. These actions were taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels,” the US Central Command said on October 4.
Iran is also paying close attention to Israeli attempts to stop the smuggling of weapons to Hezbollah. Iranian media and Syrian media said that there was an airstrike in Qusayr near the Lebanon-Syria border.
“This news followed as Zionist warplanes were spotted in Syrian skies over the border triangle between Jordan and Syria…This is not the first time the Zionist regime has attacked the border of Syria and Lebanon. On Friday morning, Israel cut off the communication by attacking another area on the border of these two countries,” Iran’s IRNA reported.
“News sources reported that the occupying Israeli army attacked around the Al-Masna crossing on the border between Lebanon and Syria.”
Iran is very concerned about these incidents, as evidenced by numerous reports.
Iran is also focused on keeping Hezbollah threats to Israel alive. Hezbollah has suffered major blows. However Iran is playing up its continued rocket and drone threats to Israel.