BAGHDAD: A Shiite militia in Iraq has claimed responsibility for a drone attack targeting the Haifa oil refinery in Israel, Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a known group, declared via an online announcement that its fighters executed a drone strike targeting Haifa’s oil refinery at dawn. However, the statement did not provide details regarding casualties.
Emphasizing solidarity with the people of Gaza, the statement underscored the group’s commitment to persistently target “enemy strongholds.”
On April 2, Iran-backed Iraqi militias also claimed responsibility for an attack on Israel, coinciding with a confirmed aerial assault on Eilat, a southern Israeli coastal city. While these Iraqi militias, officially named the Islamic Resistance in Iraq since the onset of the Gaza war in October, have previously claimed attacks on Israel, this marks the first confirmed instance of them launching an attack from Iraq.
The Israeli military verified that a “suspicious aerial target” originating from Israel’s east struck and caused minor damage to a hangar in Eilat’s naval base. Fortunately, there were no casualties or injuries reported. Additionally, one day prior to this Eilat incident, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for targeting a Christian village in Israel’s northern Galilee region with a drone launched from Iraq.
Since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on October 7, 2023, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has executed numerous attacks on Israel and U.S. bases in the region.
