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EXCLUSIVE: Amid the ongoing conflict aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear capabilities and addressing its missile systems and terrorism infrastructure, the Israeli military has confirmed to Fox News Digital that several unmanned drones have been launched into Israel from Iraqi territory.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, the Israeli military spokesperson, reported that the army has achieved a “near complete success” in intercepting and neutralizing these Iranian drones before they could reach Israeli targets.
The drones originating from Iraq are believed to be deployed by the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a coalition of Shiite militias under Iranian influence. This group previously attacked Israel with drones during the 2024 conflict with the Tehran-supported Hamas organization.
An image captured during a funeral procession on March 5, 2026, shows mourners holding a portrait of the deceased Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as they pay respects to members of Hezbollah Brigades, a pro-Iranian paramilitary group in Iraq, killed in a recent strike. (Photo by Ahmed Al-Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images)
An Iraqi Kurdish official shared with Fox News Digital, “Iraq has essentially become an extension of Iranian influence. It’s evident in the way the PMF operates indistinguishably from the state itself, receiving state salaries, holding key positions, participating in international affairs, and now having representation in the federal legislature.”
The official elaborated, “Over the past two decades, Iran has systematically infiltrated Iraqi state institutions, transforming them into mechanisms to safeguard the Shia regime in Baghdad and suppress any opposition, including the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Through control over Baghdad and state mechanisms, Iran has economically squeezed the Kurdistan Region, undermining our autonomy and increasing our vulnerability to further attacks.”
An attack was reported on the country’s shrinking Christian community. The Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, Iraq, from the capital city of Iraqi Kurdistan, wrote on X on Thursday: “A miracle no one was injured when 2 drones struck our community, 150 meters from our Catechist Center that serves 1,000 Catholic children. Our university & schools are also closed so the young can be with their parents. Please pray for us & for all who suffer in this war.”
Kurdistan Regional Government authorities confirmed the attack and said it was carried out by two drones.
Phillip Smyth, an expert on Shiite militias in Iraq, told Fox News Digital about the strikes on the Chaldean Catholic school that “Kata’ib Hezbollah was first to talk about it and it was likely Kata’ib Hezbollah, but it is possible it was another two pro-Iran militias because they all work together on drone launches.”
A drone attack struck an oil field operated by U.S. firm HKN Energy in Iraq’s Kurdistan region on Thursday, causing a fire and halting production, according to a Reuters report citing security sources and an oilfield engineer.
No group claimed responsibility, but Kurdish officials accused Iran-allied Iraqi militias of carrying out the attack.
If so, the attack would mean Iran‑aligned Iraqi militias, who have vowed to retaliate for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, have expanded targets from U.S. military bases in Iraqi Kurdistan to U.S. energy interests.
A mourner holds a portrait of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (top-L) on March 5, 2026, during a funeral procession for members of Iraq’s pro-Iran paramilitary group Hezbollah Brigades (Kataeb Hezbollah) who were killed in a strike in Baghdad the previous day. The Tehran-backed Iraqi group Kataeb Hezbollah said on March 5 that one of its commanders was killed in a strike in southern Iraq the previous day. (Ahmed Al-Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images)
Production at the field was halted as a precaution after an explosion at its power unit, the engineer told Reuters.
Some energy companies operating in Iraqi Kurdistan shut oil and gas production at their fields as a precaution after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on neighboring Iran.
Entifadh Qanbar, a former spokesman for the deputy prime minister of Iraq, echoed the comments of the Iraqi Kurdish official in his statement to Fox News Digital: “The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) are fully funded by the Iraqi government. In fact, they are formally included as a line item in Iraq’s federal budget. Officially, more than $3 billion is allocated annually just for salaries, but when logistics, weapons, food, and other operational costs are included, the PMF’s budget likely exceeds $10 billion. That is the size of the budget of a small country in the Middle East,” he claimed.
Qanbar said there is a way to change Iraq’s behavior: “If the United States wants to stop this situation, there are clear tools available. Sanctions must be imposed on the Iraqi government for funding these militias. Another powerful mechanism involves Iraq’s oil revenues, which are deposited at the U.S. Federal Reserve. The United States could suspend transfers of those funds unless Baghdad halts the financing of the PMF. Make no mistake: every terrorist who launches drones or rockets against Kurdistan, U.S. interests, Gulf states or military bases is effectively being paid by the Iraqi government,” he claimed.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani chairs negotiations between Iraq and the United States to end the International Coalition mission in Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 27, 2024. President Joe Biden is set to host al Sudani Monday, April 15, for talks that come as tensions across the Middle East have soared over the war in Gaza and Iran’s threats to retaliate for an Israeli military strike against an Iranian facility in Syria. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, Pool)
When asked if the Islamic Republic of Iran urged Shiite militias from the PMF to fire drones at Israel, a spokesman for Iran’s U.N. mission said, “The Mission declined to comment.”
On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said his government is “not tolerating any attempt aimed at dragging Iraq into war or threatening the country’s stability,” according to Kurdistan24.
Salwan Sinjari, chief of staff to the Iraqi foreign minister, referred Fox News Digital to the Iraqi foreign ministry page for official statements by his minister and the government. He did not respond to follow-up messages and calls on whether Iraq’s government was failing to crack down on the PMF.
Iran-backed shi’ite groups fighters celebrate on a street, after the IRGC attack on Israel, in Basra, Iraq, Oct. 1, 2024. (Essam Al-sudani/Reuters)
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein claimed the government was seeking to convince Iran-backed militias to disarm in January 2025, according to the Long War Journal.
However, Iraq’s government has issued mixed messages about the PMF over the years. In May 2025 al-Sudani was quoted as saying, “Today, the Popular Mobilization Forces constitute a basic force in defending Iraq.”
Iraq’s ambassador to the U.S. did not immediately respond to email, WhatsApp and telephone queries. A second Iraqi diplomat said he was unable to provide Fox News Digital a comment.
The Times of Israel reported on Thursday, after military strikes eliminated a senior officer from Kataeb Hezbollah — Iraq’s largest pro-Iran militia — south of Baghdad that PMF militias pledged to strike the Middle East interests of European nations that joined in the “Zionist-American” strikes on the Islamic Republic and its proxies.
Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. State Department.
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