BAGHDAD (AP) – Explosive-laden drones targeting the royal palace of Saudi Arabia in the kingdom’s capital last month were launched from inside Iraq, a senior Iranian-backed militia official in Baghdad and a US official said.
Speaking to the Associated Press this week, the militia official said three drones were launched from the Iraqi-Saudi border areas by a relatively unknown faction supported by Iran in Iraq and that crashed in the royal complex in Riyadh on January 23, exacerbating regional tensions.
Attacks on the Saudi capital have been sporadic amid years of the kingdom’s war against neighboring Youthi Houthi rebels. Earlier this month, the rebels targeted an airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia with drones loaded with bombs, causing a civilian plane on the asphalt to catch fire.
However, Houthi rebels aligned with Iran denied carrying out the attack on Yamama Palace in Saudi Arabia on January 23.
The comments of senior Iraqi militia officials mark the first time an Iranian-backed group has acknowledged that Iraq was the source of the attack and points to the challenge facing Baghdad in stopping attacks by Iranian-backed militia factions in Iraq.
This was followed by a demand for responsibility from a little-known group called Awliya Wa’ad al-Haq, or “Brigades of True Promise,” which circulated on social media, calling it retaliation for a suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State group in -a shopping district in Baghdad on January 21.
The militia official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak publicly about the attack, said the drones came “in certain parts of Iran and were collected in Iraq and launched from Iraq.” He did not disclose where the drones were launched along the border and did not provide further details about the group claiming the attack.
Iran-backed groups have split significantly since the Washington-led strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad more than a year ago. Both have been instrumental in commanding and controlling a wide range of Iranian-backed groups operating in Iraq.
Since their deaths, militias have become increasingly undisciplined and disparate. Some Washington analysts say the militias split up only to allow them to carry out attacks under various names to mask their involvement.
An American official said Washington believes the January 23 attack on Yamama Palace was launched from inside Iraq. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, did not elaborate and did not say how the USA reached this conclusion.
An Iraqi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, according to regulations, said US information was shared with the Iraqi government.
Launching a strike in Iraq would be a challenge for Saudi air defense, now focused on threats from Iran to the northeast and southern Yemen. Also, such drones are small enough and fly low enough to the ground not to be lifted off the radar.
The attack comes as Iraq seeks to deepen economic ties with Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies in a variety of investment projects. Last week, Iraqi President Barham Salih visited the United Arab Emirates, and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein visited Saudi Arabia this week, apparently to discuss the attack.
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Associated Press writers Robert Burns of Washington and Samya Kullab of Baghdad contributed to the report.