Iraqi Officials Suspect Israel Hit Depot

Five people were injured when a blast struck a Popular Mobilization Forces base in Baghdad's East Canal area on October 17. Iraqi authorities are now linking that explosion, along with other recent incidents, to suspected Israeli strikes on warehouses holding Chinese-origin air defense systems.

According to sources cited by the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, the weapons were supplied by Iran to Iraqi militias. The report stated that the strikes occurred last week, though it did not identify the specific Chinese system involved. One source noted that the storage locations were considered difficult to detect and that the attacks followed shortly after the shipments arrived.

The PMF initially described the October 17 blast as an accident that hit a stockpile of obsolete ammunition. An anonymous Iraqi official said investigators were still reviewing the circumstances. However, the newspaper noted that more than a week had passed without an official update from the government.

The October 17 incident was not isolated. Sources indicated it followed an event on October 1, when warehouses linked to Iran-backed groups in and around Baghdad were affected. Those sites reportedly held drones intended for suicide attacks and reconnaissance. A security official told the newspaper that while the nature of the strikes was not fully determined, evidence pointed to Israeli responsibility.

Iraqi officials have previously attributed attacks to Israel. Militias blamed Tel Aviv for strikes in 2019 and for an incident in Albukamal, Syria. In May, The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel established a secret airstrip in Iraq during its campaign against Iran. Unconfirmed accounts also suggested Israeli fighter jets used Iraqi airspace near the Iranian border with midair refueling support.

The conflict has intensified since the US and Israel began airstrikes in February. Iran has carried out more than 1,000 strikes on the Kurdistan Region using drones and missiles. Allied militias have conducted 600 attacks across Iraq, some targeting US diplomatic sites. The US withdrew its forces from Iraq on September 30, a deadline agreed upon with Baghdad, and has warned Americans against traveling to the capital.

A source in the Shi'ite Coordination Framework said ruling party leaders predicted renewed war would begin with the destruction of Iraqi faction capabilities. Most major groups in the PMF, except for the Badr Organization, are sanctioned by the US as terrorist organizations. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq recently published a statement claiming Iraqi airspace was being violated.

The newspaper described the connection between Chinese weapons supplies and the depot strikes as unconfirmed. China's Foreign Ministry denied reports of supplying such weapons to Iran on July 28. Meanwhile, an Iran-backed militia attacked Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline with a drone from Maysan province. That crossing has since closed amid US pressure and Iraqi concerns over trafficking.