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Sunday, May 10, 2026
Analysts appear to locate Israel’s secret military base in Iraqi desert
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysts appear to have found the secret military base set up by Israel in the Iraqi desert to support its campaign against Iran.
Last night, The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel built the base shortly before the US-Israeli war with Iran started on February 28, in order to serve as a hub for logistics in support of the Israeli Air Force.
The site located by OSINT analysts appears to be a makeshift airstrip in a dry lakebed, some 180 kilometers (112 miles) southwest of the city of Karbala. It is seen in satellite imagery taken just days before the war began.
a temporary ~1.6km airstrip was set up in a dry lake bed about 180km southwest of Najaf/Karbala https://t.co/GNp0stDYkP it probably became unusable by mid-March due to rain in the area https://t.co/fn48V5wLVd https://t.co/tcTM8E9BgR pic.twitter.com/IJq6I7xj3S
— Samir (@obretix) May 9, 2026
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