Iraqi militant group claims responsibility for missile attack on Israel

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) in a statement claimed responsibility for a missile strike on the city of Eilat in Israel early Friday morning.

The missile strike is believed to be the first attack on Israeli territory originating from Iraq since 1991, when the Ba'athist forces of Saddam Hussein launched over 40 Scud missiles into the Jewish state. 

The Israeli city was targeted "to support our people in Gaza and in response to the Israeli massacres against our people in Gaza," IRI's statement read.

With missiles and drones, the IRI, along with other Iraqi militant groups, has repeatedly attacked US military bases and diplomatic offices in Iraq and Syria, including in Erbil, since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war last month.

Read more: Drone that crashed at Erbil Air Base failed to detonate: WSJ 

The IRI is presently believed to be closely linked with the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

US Warning

US Defense Department Spokesperson Pat Ryder in a Thursday press briefing said that Iran is trying to use its proxy militias “to expand the war in Gaza for their own benefit.”

Ryder stressed that US troops are in Iraq at the behest of the Iraqi government to prevent the resurgence of ISIS.

“We've strengthened our forces posture across the region to deter any state or non-state actors from escalating this crisis beyond Gaza,” he added while warning, “But if those forces are threatened, we will not hesitate to take appropriate action at a time and place of our choosing.”

“The United States will do whatever is necessary to defend its forces in Iraq and the region and is ready to respond,” Ryder concluded.