BAGHDAD: An Iraqi coalition of pro-Iran armed groups claimed on Sunday a drone attack against Israel, where the military said it had intercepted “multiple suspicious aerial targets” coming from Iraq overnight.

“The fighters of the Islamic Resistance of Iraq targeted on Sunday morning a strategic location in the occupied territories using drones,” the Iraqi coalition said in a statement on Telegram, referring to Israel, and adding it was carried out “in support of our people in Gaza”.

The attack caused no injuries, according to the Israeli military.

It came as regional tensions again soared nearly a year into the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip, which has drawn in Iran-backed armed groups across the Middle East.

The Islamic Resistance of Iraq, a loose alliance of Iran-backed groups, has claimed several drone atta­cks targeting Israel in recent months, which have all been intercepted accor­ding to the Israeli military.

Last winter, the Islamic Resistance of Iraq had also claimed more than 175 rocket and drone attacks against United States troops in Iraq and Syria.

US forces carried out multiple retaliatory strikes against these factions in both countries.

The attacks on American troops have largely subsided in the past few months.

Israel’s military said on Sunday that it intercepted a “suspicious aerial target” launched from the east, and that no damage or injuries were reported.

Earlier, an official in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a grouping of Iran-backed armed factions, said they launched cruise missile and explosive drone attacks at Israel.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2024