In a revelation sure to outrage Baghdad and broad swathes of the Iraqi public,Israel established a secret military base in Iraq's desert region to support air operations against Iran, related to the start of Trump's Operation Epic Fury,The Wall Street Journalreported Saturday.

Israeli forces even at one pointlaunched airstrikes early in the conflict on Iraqi troops who approached the site and risked exposing it, per sources cited in the report. The outpost was reportedly erected under extreme secrecy shortly before the US and Israel launched the surprise, unprovoked aerial bombardment of Iran, and at a moment Tehran thought it was negotiating with Washington.

TheWSJfurther said the secret base wasplaced there with US awarenessand used it as a logistics hub for Israeli air force operations, further with Israeli special forces operating.

According to details in the report, the site was to assist in any emergency special forces operations connected with the bombing raids onnearby Iran:

Search-and-rescue teams were positioned there in case Israeli pilots were downed. None have been. When a U.S. F-15 was shot down near Isfahan, Israel offered to help, but U.S. forces managedthe rescue of two airmenthemselves, one of the people said. Israel did carry out airstrikes to help protect the operation.

The Israeli base was almost discovered in early March. Iraqi state media said a local shepherd reported unusual military activity in the area, including helicopter flights, and the Iraqi military sent troops to investigate. Israel kept them at bay with airstrikes, one of the people familiar with the matter said.

In the end, no rescue missions became necessary, or at least as far as public awareness goes. There may be much that happened related to the outpost which remains classified, however.

The report further describes that after a US F-15 fighter jet was downed near Isfahan, Israel offered assistance, but US forces recovered the two crew members on their own.Strangely, the Pentagon has still issued nothing confirmable related to that operation, and not even the identities of the rescued pilots are as yet known.

The base almost was exposed in early March afterIraqi state media reported that a shepherd spotted suspicious military activity in the area, including helicopter movements, triggering an Iraqi military investigation.

Certainly if Iraqi forces had discovered it, the base would have been immediately attacked, especially by pro-Iran paramilitary forces.

Source: ZeroHedge News