Possibly so...

https://news.yahoo.com/iraq-paramilitary-force-blames-us-attacks-181042964.html

Baghdad (AFP) - Iraqi paramilitary units said Wednesday they held the US responsible for a string of mysterious blasts in recent weeks at their bases, renewing fears of a possible proxy war.

Over the past month, alleged attacks have targeted four training camps and arms depots used by the Hashed al-Shaabi, a network of mostly-Shiite, pro-Iran paramilitary units opposed to the US.

There have been no claims of responsibility or media access to the facilities, and rumours have swirled of US or even Israeli involvement in targeting the Hashed.

On Wednesday, the paramilitary group said in a statement it had carried out its own investigation and pointed the finger at the US military, but also accused Israel of infringing Iraqi airspace.

"We announce that the first and last entity responsible for what happened are American forces, and we will hold them responsible for whatever happens from today onwards," said the statement, attributed to Hashed deputy chief Abu Mehdi al-Muhandis.

He said the attacks were carried out by "agents or in special operations with modern airplanes," without providing further details.

Tensions between Iran and the US have soared since May 2018, when President Donald Trump's administration unilaterally pulled out of a landmark 2015 nuclear accord agreed by major world powers with Tehran.

- 'Israeli drones' -

Muhandis also said "we have accurate and confirmed information that the US this year allowed four Israeli drones to enter via Azerbaijan... to target Iraqi military headquarters".

He stopped short of explicitly accusing Israel of carrying out raids and did not clarify whether alleged Israeli drone activity had any relation to the attacks over the last month.

The statement also said the Hashed would deal with any foreign planes flying above its positions without the Iraqi government's knowledge as "hostile aircraft."

It comes after at least four suspicious incidents at its positions, starting at a base in Iraq's central Amerli region.

One Iraqi fighter was killed and two Iranians wounded in what the Hashed said was a fire caused by a technical error, but the Iraqi joint operations command attributed it to shelling by "an unidentified drone".

Explosions were then reported at a Hashed base in Diyala, and last week massive blasts went off at the Saqr military camp south of Baghdad.

In reaction, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi ordered an investigation and said any air operations by "Iraqi and non-Iraqi entities" would need his approval.

On Wednesday, a government source who saw the probe's preliminary results said it recorded three warplanes flying near the Saqr base but no proof of shelling.

The final incident took place Tuesday at a Hashed-run position near the Al-Balad airbase, where US troops are present.

The US-led coalition in Iraq declined to respond directly to the Hashed's accusations on Wednesday, referring AFP to the Iraqi government.

"The US is not involved in the recent warehouse explosions," Pentagon spokesman Sean Robertson told AFP later on Wednesday.

"We are complying with Iraqi government directives about the use of their airspace," he added.

Earlier this summer, a string of rocket attacks targeted several bases where US troops are stationed as well as American commercial interests.

- Clipping Iran's wings? -

But observers say the latest reported attacks on the Hashed indicate another player, Israel, may be involved.

Israel has repeatedly warned it would act to stop what it says is Tehran's expansionism in the region, and it has carried out strikes against Iranian forces in Syria.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the Iraqi incidents but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at involvement this week, saying his country would "act against (Iran) whenever necessary."

"I've said that Iran doesn't have immunity anywhere, and I meant that," he told journalists in Kiev, after he was asked about the attacks in Iraq.

One of Israel's biggest security concerns is the possibility that Iran could transfer rockets by land to its allies in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon that could then be used to attack Israel.

The Hashed fought alongside the Iraqi military to oust the Islamic State group from swathes of Iraqi territory the jihadists seized in 2014.

Karim Bitar, a senior fellow at the Paris-based Institute for International and Strategic Affairs, also said Israel was a likely culprit.

"This strategy is probably coordinated with the United States, as part of the Trump administration's 'maximum pressure' campaign against Iran," Bitar said.

I wouldn't be surprised if this were true, because apparently they want to start attacking the Houthi (anti Saudi) forces in Yemen too:

https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Israel-plans-to-attack-the-Houthis-in-Yemen-report-599374

Maybe they're getting desperate?

Netanyahu hints at Israeli involvement in Iraq blasts

https://news.yahoo.com/netanyahu-hints-israeli-involvement-iraq-202524176.html

JERUSALEM, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted on Thursday of possible Israeli involvement in attacks against Iranian-linked targets in Iraq.

A series of blasts in the past few weeks have hit weapon depots and bases belonging to paramilitary groups in Iraq, many of them backed by Israel's regional foe Iran. The groups blamed the United States and Israel for the blasts on Wednesday.

In an interview with Russian-language Israeli television Channel 9, broadcast on Thursday, Netanyahu was asked whether Israel would operate against Iranian targets in Iraq if needed, he said:

"We are operating - not just if needed, we are operating in many areas against a state that wants to annihilate us. Of course I gave the security forces a free hand and instructed them to do anything necessary to thwart Iran's plans."

Netanyahu did not directly name Iraq as one of those areas.

Israel says it has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria, some of them against Iranian targets, to prevent Teheran from establishing a permanent military presence there and to stop advanced weapons reaching its proxies in the area.

Israeli officials suggested recently they viewed Iraq, whose main ally is Iran, as more of a threat than in recent years, but have not directly commented on the recent blasts at Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) sites in Iraq.

On Wednesday, the PMF, the umbrella grouping of Iraq's mostly Shi'ite Muslim paramilitary groups, said the United States had allowed four Israeli drones to enter the region accompanying U.S. forces and carry out missions on Iraqi territory.

The Pentagon denied involvement. The U.S.-led coalition, in Iraq to fight remnants of the Islamic State group, dismissed the statement.

As tensions between Washington and Tehran increase, Iraq finds itself caught between neighbouring Iran, whose regional influence has grown in recent years, and the United States.

Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi last week ordered all ammunition dumps belonging to the armed forces or paramilitary groups to be moved outside of cities.

He also cancelled all special flight permissions for Iraqi and foreign aircraft, meaning that sorties, including by the U.S.-led coalition operating against Islamic State militants, must be cleared in advance by the prime minister. (Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Sonya Hepinstall)

https://news.yahoo.com/us-officials-confirm-israeli-strike-073745819.html

BAGHDAD (AP) — An Israeli airstrike on an Iranian weapons depot in Iraq, confirmed by U.S. officials, is threatening to destabilize security in the volatile country that has struggled to remain neutral in the conflict between Washington and Tehran.

It would be the first known Israeli airstrike in Iraq since 1981, when Israeli warplanes destroyed a nuclear reactor being built by Saddam Hussein, and significantly expands Israel's campaign against Iranian military involvement in the region.

The July 19 attack targeted a base belonging to Iranian-backed paramilitary forces in Amirli in the northern Salaheddin province, and killed two Iranians. The attack was followed by at least two other mysterious explosions at munitions depot near Baghdad belonging to the militias.

No one has claimed responsibility for any of the attacks, which have set back security and stability in the country just as it appeared to be on the path to recovery following a devastating fight against the Islamic State group, and decades of war and conflict before that.

Earlier this week, the deputy head of the Iraqi Shiite militias, known collectively as the Popular Mobilization Forces, openly accused Israeli drones of carrying out the attacks but ultimately blamed Washington for allowing it to happen and threatened strong retaliation for any future attack.

Iraq's government, by contrast, has said it is investigating the attacks and has yet to determine who was behind them, warning against attempts to drag Iraq into any confrontation.

Security analyst Motaz Mohieh said Iraq's weak government will not be able to announce the results of its investigation "because it will constitute an embarrassment" for it.

"These strikes will continue to target the factions associated with Iran that cause a threat to Israel and the U.S. presence," he predicted.

The fallout could directly affect the future of thousands of American troops in Iraq, providing ammunition and pretext for hard-line factions who want them to leave.

Significantly, a leading Shiite Muslim cleric followed by some Iraqi militant factions issued a public religious edict, or fatwa, on Friday that forbids the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq following the strikes.

In his fatwa, Iran-based Grand Ayatollah Kazim al-Haeri also urged Iraq's armed forces to "resist and confront the (U.S.) enemy," a call that is likely to inflame tensions in Iraq.

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also weighed in, warning of a "strong response" if it is proven that Israel was behind the recent airstrikes in Iraq.

In statements issued by his office, he also said that if Israel continues to target Iraq, the country "will transform into a battle arena that drags in multiple countries, including Iran."

U.S. forces withdrew from Iraq in 2011, but returned in 2014 at the invitation of the government to help battle IS after it seized vast areas in the north and west of the country, including the second-largest city, Mosul. A U.S.-led coalition provided crucial air support as Iraqi forces regrouped and drove IS out in a costly three-year campaign.

The U.S. maintains about 5,000 troops in Iraq, and some groups say there's no longer a justification for them to be there now that IS has been defeated.

The comments by al-Maliki, who was prime minister for eight years and now heads a Shiite bloc in parliament, follow fiery threats to the U.S. made hours earlier by the powerful Hezbollah Brigades, an Iran-backed militia. In a statement, it held the U.S. responsible for the strikes and said any new attacks will be met with a harsh response.

"Be sure that if the confrontation between us starts, it will only end with your removal from the region once and for all," it said.

Two U.S. officials said Israel carried out an attack on the Iranian weapons depot in July that killed two Iranian military commanders. The U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.

A senior official with the Shiite militias at the time told The Associated Press that the base housed advisers from Iran and Lebanon — a reference to the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group. He said the attack targeted the headquarters of the advisers and a weapons depot, causing a huge explosion and fire.

Iranian media reported a funeral the next day for Abolfazl Sarabian, identified as a "shrine defender," which typically denotes someone fighting in Iraq and Syria.

On Aug. 12, a massive explosion killed one person and wounded 28 at the al-Saqr military base near Baghdad, shaking the capital. The base housed a weapons depot for the Iraqi federal police and the PMF. The most recent of the explosions came Tuesday night, at a munitions depot north of Baghdad.

There have been weeks of speculation in Israel that the army is attacking targets in Iraq.

The confirmation comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted strongly that his country is behind recent airstrikes on bases and munitions depot belonging to Iran-backed paramilitary forces operating in Iraq.

In an interview with a Russian-language TV station Thursday, Netanyahu indicated the speculation is true.

"I don't give Iran immunity anywhere," he said, accusing the Iranians of trying to establish bases "against us everywhere," including Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.

Asked whether that means Israel is operating in Iraq, Netanyahu said: "We act in many arenas against a country that desires to annihilate us. Of course I gave the security forces a free hand and the instruction to do what is needed to thwart these plans of Iran."

The New York Times, citing Israeli and U.S. officials, reported Friday that Israel bombed an Iranian weapons depot in Iraq last month.

Israel has previously acknowledged hundreds of airstrikes on Iranian targets in neighboring Syria, primarily arms shipments believed to be destined for Iran's Hezbollah allies.

Israel considers Iran to be its greatest enemy and has repeatedly vowed it will not allow the Iranians, who are supporting the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad, to establish a permanent military presence in Syria.

To strike Iraq, Israeli warplanes could potentially travel through neighboring Syria — although that would likely require agreement from Russia, which operates in Syrian skies in support of the Syrian president. Israel and Russia maintain a hotline to prevent their air forces from clashing in Syrian airspace.

On Friday, Netanyahu spoke by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to a statement from his office, the leaders discussed the situation in Syria, with emphasis on tightening the military coordination mechanisms.

The other, more complicated option would be for Israeli warplanes to travel through Turkey, a former ally that now has cool relations with Israel, or through Saudi Arabia, to carry out strikes on Iraq.

Israel and the Saudis do not have formal diplomatic relations, but are believed to have established a behind-the-scenes alliance based on their shared hostility toward Iran.