The presence of two secret Israeli bases in Iraq may have led to the death of a shepherd who discovered them, according to an investigation by The New York Times (NYT).
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Israel set up a covert outpost in Iraq’s western desert during the conflict with Iran. The site was reportedly used to support air operations and housed special forces units.
According to the report, installations were built shortly before the war began in February and were later used during an attack in March on Iraqi troops who had nearly uncovered the site.
Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that the Israeli military deployed rescue teams and commando units to the forward position, tasked with extracting downed air crews from inside Iran if necessary.
Officials told the NYT that there was a second Israeli base in the same desert, which predated the current war between the United States, Israel and Iran and was used during the war against Iran in June 2025.
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According to local witnesses, the discovery of the base by shepherd Awad al-Shammari, who stumbled upon it while on a trip for groceries, led to a helicopter opening fire on his truck.
The NYT reported that Shammari’s family searched for two days before learning of his fate.
“We were told that a burned-up pickup truck the same as Awad’s was out there, but no one dared to go there,” his cousin Amir told the outlet.
“When we got there, we found the car and body burned.”
The reports have sparked anger across Iraq, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel, prompting growing calls for the government to provide answers and hold those responsible to account.
Officials told the NYT that the base discovered by Shammari had been known to Washington since at least June 2025, suggesting the US had withheld the information from the Iraqi government despite being a close ally.
Iraqi MP Raed al-Maliki accused the US of handing Iraqi airspace to Israel during the war.
“The United States handed Iraqi airspace to the entity during the war and ordered radar systems to be shut down. Now it has become clear that Iraqi territory was also used to establish a secret intelligence centre or base for the Zionist entity,” he said, using a term commonly used by opponents of Israel.
The Iraqi government has not officially commented on the reports.
