Iran Using Hit Squads to Silence Critics of its Meddling in Iraq

Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force Qassem Suleimani
Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force Qassem Suleimani
TT

Iran Using Hit Squads to Silence Critics of its Meddling in Iraq

Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force Qassem Suleimani
Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force Qassem Suleimani

Tehran is using teams of hit squads in Iraq to silence critics of Iranian attempts to meddle in Iraq’s new cabinet, British security officials told The Daily Telegraph.

The hit squads are said to have been deployed on the orders of Qassem Suleimani, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, with the aim of intimidating Iraqi opponents of Iranian meddling in Iraqi politics, the daily reported.

The hit squads were deployed after Iraqi general election in May, when Iranian attempts to establish a controlling influence over the new Iraqi government were stymied by the failure of Tehran-backed candidates to win sufficient votes, it said.

During the election campaign Iran backed former Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose close association with Tehran was a major factor in his removal from office, said The Telegraph.

The Iranians also hedged their bets by supporting another pro-Iran candidate, Hadi al-Amiri, although neither candidate mustered enough votes to form a government, it added.

According to the newspaper, the most high-profile victim to date of the Iranian hit squads was Adel Shaker El-Tamimi - a close ally of former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi - who was assassinated by the Quds force in September.

A Shiite and joint Canadian-Iraqi national, Tamimi, 46, was involved in attempts in Baghdad to heal the schism between the country's Shiite and Sunni communities, and also worked as a low-key envoy to restore Iraq’s relations with neighboring Arab states.

Security sources told The Telegraph that the Iranian assassins have also targeted opponents across Iraq’s political spectrum.

Other victims of Iran's hit squads include Shawki al-Haddad, a close ally of Muqtada Al-Sadr, the report said.

Haddad was murdered in July after accusing the Iranians of election fraud. Meanwhile Rady al-Tai, an adviser to religious authority Ali Al-Sistani was the subject of a failed assassination attempt in August after he called for the reduction of Iranian influence in the new government.

"Iran in intensifying its campaign of intimidation against the Iraqi government by using assassination squads to silence critics of Tehran," a senior British security official told The Daily Telegraph.

"This is a blatant attempt to thwart efforts by the new Iraqi government to end Iran's meddling in Iraq."

Apart from sending hit squads to Iraq, security officials say the Quds Force is also seeking to consolidate its military position in the country.

Using established Shiite militias such as Kataib Hezbollah, the Iranians are smuggling weapons into Iraq for use against US and other Western targets, they say.

In September the militia was accused of launching two attacks against US targets - the US Embassy in Baghdad and the US consulate in Basra.



Bomb Hoax Threats to Indian Airlines Spark Chaos

People sleep inside a mosquito net on the banks of river Yamuna in New Delhi on October 17, 2024. (Photo by SAJJAD HUSSAIN / AFP)
People sleep inside a mosquito net on the banks of river Yamuna in New Delhi on October 17, 2024. (Photo by SAJJAD HUSSAIN / AFP)
TT

Bomb Hoax Threats to Indian Airlines Spark Chaos

People sleep inside a mosquito net on the banks of river Yamuna in New Delhi on October 17, 2024. (Photo by SAJJAD HUSSAIN / AFP)
People sleep inside a mosquito net on the banks of river Yamuna in New Delhi on October 17, 2024. (Photo by SAJJAD HUSSAIN / AFP)

More than 70 fake bomb threats have been made against flights operated by multiple Indian airlines this week, Indian media reported Sunday, sparking fear among passengers and global delays.

All flights landed safely, but the spate of threats has resulted in planes being diverted to Canada and Germany, and fighter jets scrambled to escort aircraft in the skies above Britain and Singapore, AFP reported.

India's government and civil aviation authorities have warned that "very strict action" will be taken.

New Delhi's civil aviation authorities have not said how many threats have been received in the past week, but the Times of India and broadcaster News18 reported more than 70 hoaxes targeting both domestic and international flights since October 13.

At least 30 hoax threats were made on Saturday alone.

The global impact of delays and diversions has been heavy on airline schedules and costs.

At least one person -- a minor -- has been arrested in India, but the threats have continued.

"All others responsible for the disruptions will be identified and duly prosecuted," India's aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said after the arrest on Wednesday.

A report in The Indian Express said that an anonymous account on X, formerly Twitter, was suspended after posting bomb threats to at least 40 flights on Friday and Saturday.

This included both Indian and international airlines, including from the United States and New Zealand.

"There are bombs placed onboard... No one will make out alive. Hurry up and evacuate the plane," read the identical messages from the suspended account, the newspaper reported.

Among recent flights impacted was an Air India flight from Mumbai to New York, with US security officials sweeping the plane after its safe landing on Saturday.

Other flights impacted include an Air India plane from New Delhi to Chicago, which was forced to make an emergency landing in the far northern Canadian city of Iqaluit on Tuesday.

Canada's airforce had to fly the passengers on.

On the same day, Singapore scrambled fighter jets to escort an Air India Express plane.

On Thursday, British RAF fighter jets escorted an Air India Boeing 777-300 after a threat was made against the plane, which landed safely in London.

On Friday, a Vistara flight from New Delhi to London had to divert to Frankfurt in Germany.