चरवाहे ने देख लिया था इजराइल का सीक्रेट सैन्य ठिकाना: हेलिकॉप्टर से पीछा कर मारा, तब खुला इराक में इजराइली कैंप का राज

Awad al-Shammari, a 29-year-old shepherd, had set out in his pickup vehicle to collect essential goods. It was common for vehicles to pass through this desert area situated near the borders of Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

A few hours later, the same vehicle was seen back engulfed in flames and riddled with bullets. People reported that a helicopter was following the truck and continuously firing at it, until the truck stopped in the sand.

Family members say that Awad had accidentally reached a secret military base in Israel. There he saw soldiers, helicopters and tents surrounding a makeshift airstrip. He immediately called the regional command of the Iraqi Army and informed about this. The family believes that he was murdered for this reason.

The Israeli army has not commented on these allegations. Witnesses and officials involved in the report spoke to The New York Times on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

Israel has 2 secret military bases in Iraq

Israel was running two secret military bases in the western desert of Iraq for more than a year. According to regional and Iraqi officials, Israel was using the site to assist in military operations against Iran.

One of these was the same base which Awad had seen. Earlier, the Wall Street Journal had also reported about an Israeli base in Iraq, but Iraqi officials told The New York Times that a second secret base also existed.

Officials said that this base had been built even before the 12-day war between America, Israel and Iran in June 2025. According to a regional official, Israel had started preparing such secret bases by the end of 2024 so that they could be used in future wars.

America had information about Israeli secret hideout

America was aware of at least one secret base since June 2025 or earlier. It is believed that America hid from Iraq that the army of an enemy country was working on its land.

Iraqi MP Waad al-Kadu said Israel’s construction of secret bases on Iraqi soil is a flagrant violation of the country’s sovereignty and the dignity of the Iraqi people.

According to regional officials, Israel was confident that it could run a secret base in Iraq because of the strong US military presence there.

Officials said that during the 2025 war and the current tension, the US had forced Iraq to turn off its radars so that information about American aircraft does not go out. Because of this, Iraq became largely dependent on America to detect suspicious activities in its territory.

This revelation has raised uncomfortable questions for Iraq. First, whether the Iraqi security forces were not aware of the foreign military presence? Or did they know but ignored it? Both situations show that Iraq is still not able to completely control its land.

Iraqi army commander said – I already had suspicions

Major General Ali al-Hamdani, commander of the Iraqi army’s Euphrates Unit, said the army had suspected Israeli presence in the desert a month ago. People of the Bedouin community living there had been telling the army for several weeks that suspicious activities were visible in the desert. People had seen the movement of helicopters, the presence of soldiers and temporary structures built in the desert.

Ali al-Hamdani said that the army suspected that Israeli forces might be present there, but the army chose to observe from a distance rather than go there directly. He said that the Iraqi army had also sought information from American officials, but they did not get any response.

After some time, the matter became more serious when the shepherd Awad himself called and said that he had seen soldiers, helicopters and tents around an airstrip. But after some time his contact was lost.

Army arrived to investigate, Israel attacked and drove away

Awad’s family searched for him for two days. Later they learned about the Bedouin people who had witnessed his murder. Aamir al-Shammari, Awad’s cousin, said people told him there was a burnt-out pickup vehicle similar to Awad’s lying in the desert, but no one dared go there out of fear.

When the family reached there, they found a burnt car and Awad’s body. The family shared his blood-soaked pictures. His head and fingers were badly burnt. The family buried him in a simple grave near the car at the same place.

According to Ali al-Hamdani, the day after Awad’s information, the Iraqi army sent troops to investigate the area. But as soon as the soldiers reached near that area, they were attacked. One soldier was killed, two were injured and army vehicles were bombed. After this the soldiers had to retreat.

The shepherd’s vehicle was attacked by Israeli soldiers, after which it was burnt and destroyed.

Senior officials tried to slow down the investigation

Senior officers in Baghdad were unable to understand who carried out the attack. Some senior military officials downplayed the incident and slowed down the investigation. The only thing the Iraqi army said publicly was that a ‘foreign force’ attacked and a complaint has been lodged with the UNSC.

However, internally Iraqi Army Chief General Abdul-Amir Yarallah contacted the US Army. According to Major General Hamdani and two senior officers, the American side said that the attack was not carried out by America. After this the Iraqi officials realized that it was Israel.

“So far the government has been silent on the issue,” Ali al-Hamdani told the New York Times. That is, he was pointing to the fact that despite the government having suspicions and information, it did not say anything publicly.

Iraq did not admit the existence of Israeli bases

There are no diplomatic relations between Iraq and Israel and the Iraqi people consider Israel an enemy. The Iraqi government has not yet officially acknowledged the existence of these bases.

The report said that the Al-Nukhaib base was used for Israeli aircraft to reach Iran in short distances, refuel and treat the injured. According to regional officials, this base proved to be very useful in the June 2025 war.

US Central Command declined to comment on Israeli activities in Iraq. But former US military officers and diplomats said that given the close relations between the US and Israeli armies, it is difficult to believe that the US Central Command was not aware of this.

Iraqi official confirms second secret base

On March 8, five days after the attack, the Iraqi Parliament summoned military officials to give a confidential briefing. MP Hassan Fadam, who was present at the meeting, told the New York Times that Israel had maintained at least one more military base in Iraq. He said that the Al-Nukhaib base came to light only because it was caught.

A second Iraqi official also confirmed a second base, although he did not specify its exact location. Just said that he too was in the Western Desert.

The report said that according to the rules, America has to inform Baghdad about any military activity on Iraqi soil. This creates two possibilities. Either the US hid this, or top Iraqi officials knew but kept it secret.

However, officials believe that the Iraqi leadership was probably not aware of Israel’s presence. They probably thought there were American forces there.

Expert said- Iran got an excuse to attack Iraq

Since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Baghdad has been trying to strike a balance between the US and Iran. The Trump administration continues to pressure Iraq to weaken pro-Iranian militias and keep them away from government and security forces.

Experts say that the disclosure of Israel’s secret bases could further upset this balance. GeoPol Labs founder Ramzi Mardini said cooperation with the US could now be seen as standing up to Israel. If the war with Iran starts again, it could give Iran an excuse to intervene more directly in Iraq.

He said this would also give pro-Iranian militias grounds to refuse to give up their weapons. According to the report, the Israeli base of Al-Nukhaib is no longer active, while the status of the other base is unclear.

Meanwhile, Awad al-Shammari’s family says his murder was ignored. Her cousin Aamir said the family wants the government to investigate the matter and find out why this happened to her.

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