NAJAF DESERT — Israel constructed a secretly operated military outpost deep inside the Iraqi desert to support its air campaign before the start of the US-Israel war on Iran. The installation housed special forces, served as a logistical hub for Israel's air force, and included capacity for search-and-rescue teams to assist downed Israeli pilots.

Open-source analysts identified the suspected location close to Iraq's border with Saudi Arabia using satellite images. Israeli troops launched air attacks from the outpost against Iraqi forces who nearly discovered it in early March.

"There is no agreement or consent for any force to be present in this location," Lieutenant-General Qais al-Muhammadawi, Deputy Commander of Joint Operations in Iraq, said. He said Baghdad received reports of individuals or movement in the Najaf desert near Karbala, a city about 100km southwest of the capital.

Al-Muhammadawi said a force of three regiments from the Karbala Operations Command was deployed to investigate the reported activity and came under heavy aerial fire, resulting in the death of one fighter and injuries to two others. He said Iraqi forces were later reinforced by two counterterrorism regiments who searched the area but found nothing.

Baghdad submitted an official protest about suspected covert military activity to the United States in late March and called any secret operation a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. Iraq's Karbala operations commander said an Israeli soldiers' group had been located in the Najaf desert in March but did not stay for more than 48 hours.

Accounts from Iraqi authorities diverged. A senior Iraqi security official said reports about the secret Israeli military site inside Iraq were "false," and Iraqi forces said in a statement on X that no unauthorised foreign forces were operating in their territory and that circulated information was inaccurate. A lawmaker from the Badr Organisation said a joint "US-Israeli" military camp exists in western Iraq, and a senior Iraqi official in the office of outgoing Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said a secret military operation had taken place with American assistance and under American cover.

"It's normal that before operations you reconnoitre and set up these kinds of locations," Michael Knights, head of Horizon Engage, said. He said the western desert of Iraq is a perfect spot for a clandestine military outpost due to its sparse population and vast size.

Mahmoud Abdelwahed, a correspondent, said the remote desert terrain in the area has historically been used for covert military operations. He said a local shepherd reported helicopters in the area in March, nearly exposing the military post, and was killed when his vehicle was reportedly targeted by Israel.