Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) released on November 1 footage showing the interceptions of some of seven drones which were launched at Israel overnight.
Five of the drones were launched from Iraq, apparently by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), and the remaining two were launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon.
The IDF said in a brief statement that the drones were shot down using fighter jets, attack helicopters and ground-based air defense systems. Throughout October alone, more than 100 drones were launched at Israel, according to the military.
Separately, a United States defense official and a regional security official told The Associated Press on November 1 that U.S. forces had been intercepting drones launched from Iraq at Israel. The officials said that Iraqi drone attacks have increased in recent weeks.
There’s been an average of about five launches a day from within Iraq targeting Israel by Iran-backed armed factions, and within the last week, eight drones were fired in one 24-hour period, the regional security official said.
The official added that ongoing launches have increased the chance that Israel will respond directly to those attacks.
The IRI, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed factions, is thought to be behind all drone attacks from Iraq. The attacks began after the outbreak of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip in October of last year and they escalated last September after the IDF stepped up operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Despite U.S. efforts against the IRI, the group attacks are becoming more effective. On October 2, two Israeli soldiers were killed and 24 others were wounded when a drone launched by the group hit an IDF base in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
The IRI will not likely back down. In fact, the group announced another drone attack on a vital target in northern Israel on November 2. Any direct Israel response against Iraq could push Iranian-backed armed factions there to further escalate their operations.
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should iran mess again with israel, wait until they send their oil fields into burning inferno
you are only earning your own early death from bio-weapons and war by supporting the murder of iranians. you are blinded by the zionist hate for ethnic equality.