Iraq denies new unauthorized landings after alleged Israeli base report

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Security Media Cell on Sunday denied reports that unauthorized forces had recently landed in the country, saying an incident recently referenced in US media reports took place in March and that Iraqi authorities had already responded to it.

The statement came after a Saturday report by The Wall Street Journal alleged that Israel established a clandestine military outpost in Iraq’s western desert to support air operations against Iran.

“No new airborne landings have occurred in the Karbala desert. The incident mentioned in the American media dates back to March 5,” Saad Maan, head of Iraq's Security Media Cell, told Rudaw on Sunday.

“At that time, the necessary measures were taken regarding that unauthorized airborne landing which took place in the al-Nukhaib desert,” he added.

Nukhayb is a desert region in southwestern Iraq, located in Anbar province near the borders of Karbala and Najaf provinces, along key routes linking central Iraq to Saudi Arabia.

According to Maan, Iraqi security and military forces confronted an unidentified force operating without authorization in the area. “Iraqi security and military forces were present at the site and clashed with an unknown force whose presence was unauthorized,” he said, noting that one Iraqi security member was killed and two others wounded in the incident. Baghdad had confirmed the clash and casualties at the time.

Maan added that Iraqi authorities have not recorded similar incidents since then. “Through our follow-ups, it has become clear that during the months of April and May, neither the previous force nor any other unauthorized force has landed, and no similar incidents have occurred. Security forces continue to patrol that area,” he stated.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that “Israel set up a clandestine military outpost in the Iraqi desert to support its air campaign against Iran and launched airstrikes against Iraqi troops who almost discovered it early in the war, people familiar with the matter including U.S. officials said.”

According to the newspaper, the installation “housed special forces and served as a logistical hub for the Israeli air force, just before the war started with the knowledge of the U.S.”