An Iraqi security official told Alhurra on Thursday that an Iranian Revolutionary Guard officer was arrested about two weeks ago on suspicion of orchestrating a drone attack targeting Baghdad International Airport, along with three Iraqis.
According to the official, all four remain in custody, despite pressure from Iran-aligned militias to secure their release.
The Iraqi government’s military spokesperson did not respond to Alhurra’s requests for comment on the report.
The Iraqi authorities have not publicly announced any arrests related to drone attacks carried out by armed factions inside the country. On March 25, Baghdad announced the arrest of four people accused of carrying out an attack on a military base in Al-Hasakah, northeastern Syria. On Wednesday, a statement from the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani said he informed French President Emmanuel Macron that Iraqi authorities had apprehended those responsible for a drone attack in March that killed a French soldier in Erbil.
Since the outbreak of hostilities between the United States, Israel, and Iran on Feb. 28, information obtained by Alhurra indicates increasing involvement of Revolutionary Guard personnel in attacks by armed factions. Their role has shifted from advisory to direct management of rocket and drone operations targeting Western and regional interests.
Small Revolutionary Guard teams in Iraq work on multiple tasks, according to a senior Iraqi intelligence source who spoke to Alhurra. Among their key activities is converting rudimentary rockets into precision-guided weapons.
A former Iraqi security adviser to a previous prime minister told Alhurra that “the ongoing bombardments are directed by Iranian advisers.”
He added, “Iraqi factions are capable of carrying out these operations, but the Revolutionary Guard wants to guarantee the success of the strikes, so advisers are present in Iraq.”
Sources indicate that current operations are managed by a complex network of officers and specialists assigned to specialized units, with each overseeing a specific task to maintain military pressure while preserving political and legal cover.
On March 18, several Iranian advisers were killed in an airstrike targeting a house in the upscale Al-Jadriya neighborhood of Baghdad, including a figure known as “Ansari,” an expert in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, according to an Iraqi Interior Ministry source who spoke to Alhurra. The source said four other Iranians were also killed, amid a lack of transparency from the Popular Mobilization Forces regarding the details of the strike.
Separately, a newly recruited member of the Popular Mobilization Forces said Thursday that internal instructions were issued not to respond to calls from international or unknown numbers, “following suspicious calls and text messages sent to members urging them to abandon their positions and surrender their weapons.”
He explained that these communications are believed to be used to locate recipients before targeting them with airstrikes or drone attacks shortly after they respond.
These developments come amid ongoing drone attacks targeting Baghdad International Airport and other locations across Iraq, part of a broader wave of security tension since U.S.-Iran confrontations erupted in late February.
Recent weeks have seen multiple attacks that Iran‑aligned armed factions have either claimed or been connected with, targeting U.S.‑linked sites and critical facilities such as civilian airports and military installations in Baghdad, Erbil and other regions.
At the same time, sites belonging to these factions have been struck by air raids of unknown origin, while reports indicate that the United States is carrying out targeted operations against Iran-linked groups inside Iraq.
A U.S. defense official told Alhurra on March 9 that American forces were conducting strikes against Iran-affiliated faction sites in Iraq, without providing further details.
The article is a translation of the original Arabic.
