Israeli forces had set up a temporary base using an old airstrip in the Iraqi desert during the war against Iran, two security officials told AFP on Sunday, confirming a Wall Street Journal report.At the start of the war, which was sparked by joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, troops were found in the Najaf desert in the southwest of the country and clashed with Iraqi forces, killing one soldier and wounding two others. “Israeli forces established a base in an abandoned airstrip built by Saddam Hussein in the Najaf desert,” the security official said.“There are no troops there anymore, but they may have left equipment,” he said, adding that the Israeli operation was “in coordination with the US”. It was not clear how long the forces had been there or what their mission was.Iraq was involved in the Middle East war from the beginning, with the US and Israel accused of targeting Iran-backed armed groups, resulting in hundreds of attacks on US interests in Iraq and throughout the Gulf region. News of foreign troops in the desert emerged early in the war after a shepherd reported military activity. On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported that “Israel set up a secret military base in the Iraqi desert to support its air campaign against Iran”, citing people familiar with the matter, including US officials. The report said that “Israel built this installation with the knowledge of the US, which housed special forces and served as a logistics hub.” The Israeli military has not yet commented.Following the WSJ report, an Iraqi spokesman cited a statement issued on March 5. At the time, Qais al-Mohammadwi, Iraq’s deputy commander of joint operations, told state media that Iraq had protested to the US-led anti-jihadist coalition deployed in the country about the airstrike in Najaf. He said that after receiving reports of “individuals or movement in the Najaf desert”, Iraq’s military sent a force to investigate. The soldiers came under heavy aerial fire, in which one soldier was killed and two others were injured. Additional forces later searched the area, but “found nothing”, Mohammadavi said. “No foreign troops were authorized to be at that location.” Another security official said that “there are indications that an Israeli technical team was involved in the operation.” agencies