Iraqi forces and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) launched a security sweep across the deserts of Najaf and Karbala on May 12, 2026, after it was reported that Israel had operated a secret military outpost in Iraq during its war with Iran.
The operation, dubbed “Imposing Sovereignty,” will move along four axes with the aim of securing the road linking Karbala and the Nukhaib region, according to Ali Al-Hamdani, commander of the paramilitary PMF’s Middle Euphrates operation.
The sweep is being carried out under the direction of the Commander in Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces and under the supervision of the Chief of Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah, Al-Hamdani said, adding that the participating forces would be carrying out search and clearance operations extending up to 70 kilometers into the desert.
The operation follows a Wall Street Journal report alleging that Israel had set up a clandestine military outpost in the Iraqi desert before the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran. The site housed special forces, served as a logistical hub for the Israeli air force and included search and rescue teams for any downed Israeli pilots.
Iraq’s Joint Operations Command denied that any unauthorized bases or foreign forces were currently present on Iraqi territory. The command said that “some parties are attempting to exploit this incident politically, while others are making statements without knowing the facts.”
However, the command acknowledged that Iraqi forces from the Karbala Operations Command and Najaf had clashed in early March with “unidentified, unauthorized detachments supported by aircraft” in the Karbala desert east of Nukhaib and Najaf. The clash killed one Iraqi security force member, wounded two others and damaged a vehicle.
The base was reportedly on the verge of exposure after a local shepherd alerted authorities to unusual helicopter activity in the area. Iraqi troops were dispatched to investigate, but Israeli forces allegedly carried out airstrikes to deter them from approaching the site.
The Joint Operations Command said subsequent security reports confirmed that no unauthorized bases or forces had remained in the area since the March incident. It also said Iraqi units had continued to search the desert up to Iraq’s borders with neighboring states.
The case has exposed a recurring contradiction in Iraqi sovereignty: Baghdad formally rejects foreign military violations, while its airspace and desert zones remain vulnerable to the military calculations of regional and international actors.
During the 12-day war in June 2025, Iraq’s representative to the UN Security Council said 50 Israeli warplanes had violated Iraqi airspace, flying over Basra, Najaf and Karbala after entering through the Syrian-Jordanian border area. Iraq said the flights were a violation of international law and the UN Charter.
The desert sweep is unfolding at a particularly sensitive moment in Baghdad. Prime minister‑designate Ali Al‑Zaidi has been tasked with forming a new government after months of post‑election deadlock, even as incumbent Mohammed Al‑Sudani remains in caretaker mode, overseeing security and oil‑revenue decisions without a full‑mandate cabinet.
