The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a group reportedly backed by Iran, says it will begin a new phase next week in its fight to support the Palestinian people while "confronting the enemies," meaning Israel and the United States, according to a statement the Iran-based group has posted.
"They state that this phase will be much more severe and widespread against the bases of the enemies in the region," OSINTdefender, an online open source intelligence monitor focused on Europe and other worldwide conflicts, posted on social media platform X Thursday night, along with a copy of the statement.
The Islamic Resistance of Iraq accompanied its comments with a picture of what it claimed to be a cruise missile.
The group, which has been described as consisting of Iranian-backed militia units, claimed this past week to have been attacking targets in the region.
Wednesday, two drones targeting a U.S. base in Syria's al-Tanf region were thwarted by the base's defense system, according to the Iraqi government.
Monday, the group claimed it attacked U.S. and coalition forces at Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq. The rockets did not cause any casualties or infrastructure damage.
It also claimed Thursday to have attacked "a vital target for the Zionist entity on the coast of the Dead Sea," in "response to the massacres committed by the usurping entity against Palestinian civilians, including children, women and the elderly," reports Newsweek.
A spokesman from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) told the outlet, however, that the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, rather than being a specific organization, "is a broader term used to describe the operations of all Iran-backed militias in Iraq to include the recent spate of strikes into Iraq and Syria during the current conflict between Israel and Hamas."
Last week, the U.S. military conducted strikes on two facilities in eastern Syria that were being used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups, with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin referring to the hits as "self-defense" measures.
He said U.S. forces will take "further necessary measures to protect our people" if attacks continue.
The CENTCOM spokesman told Newsweek that the U.S. posture increases in the region are "intended to serve as an unequivocal demonstration in deed and not only in words, of U.S. support for Israel's defense and serve as a deterrent signal to Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah, and any other proxy across the region who might be considering exploiting the current situation to escalate conflict."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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