ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two Islamic Resistance in Iraq drones were intercepted by Israeli defense systems near the Golan Heights, a war monitor said on Monday, adding they entered Syrian airspace from Iraq.
"The Israeli air defences intercepted two drones belonging to the 'Islamic Resistance in Iraq' over the villages of al-Shajarah, and al-Qusayr area in al-Yarmouk Basin..." the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.
The area near the Golan Heights, amid the protracted Israel-Gaza war, has become a regular attack vector against Israel for Iran-backed groups like the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
The Observatory added that the drones "entered from Syrian airspace coming from Iraq" and forces from the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) "were unable to intercept them" near the al-Tanf garrison at the trilateral border with Syria and Jordan.
On Sunday, an Islamic Resistance in Iraq drone launched from the "Syrian desert" attacked Israeli forces near the Golan Heights, reported SOHR which relies on a network of sources on the ground. It added that the forces in At-Tanf also "failed to block it."
The drone attacks come amid increased conflict between US-allied Israel and pro-Iran groups, primarily Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria.
The United Nations has expressed concern over the possibility of conflict spilling across the wider region.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq is a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups backed by Iran and affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The group has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks on US forces on bases in Iraq. The US military has responded with several retaliatory strikes.
Last month, Washington and Baghdad reached an agreement to end the military mission of the US-led coalition in Iraq within a year, transitioning to bilateral security partnerships. Coalition operations are expected to continue at some level in Iraq through 2026 to support the anti-ISIS mission in northeast Syria (Rojava).
