Iranian military officials believe that Israel had a hand in a mysterious airstrike that destroyed an Iranian missile depot in Iraq, Kuwait's Al-Jarida newspaper reported Sunday.
The strike took place on Thursday night, on an Iranian militia base in Nineveh province. The area was recently liberated from the Islamic State group and according to the report, the Iranian-backed militias are trying to encourage demographic changes among the Sunni population in the province.
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A high-ranking officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps told the paper that Israeli fighter jets flying out of an American base near the Syria-Joran-Israel borders targeted the weapons depot, which was holding short- and mid-range missiles.
The officers said the IRGC's investigation into the strike concluded that the missiles used in the strike were the same as missiles used by the Israeli Air Force in raids in Syria.
The report further noted that during a visit to Iraq by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, he warned Iraqi government officials that Israel could strike Iranian targets on their soil "at any time."
Senior Iraqi officials told Al-Jarida that chances of the Iraqi government officially blaming Israel for the strike were slim, as that would put Baghdad "in a delicate position."
A general with the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps said the perpetrator of Thursday's strike "remains unknown."
The Pentagon denied any knowledge of the strike.
