CAIRO, October 17. /TASS/. Supporters of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq have claimed that they are capable of striking a nuclear research center near the Israeli city of Dimona, the Iraqi Baghdad Today news website reported.

According to a spokesperson for the Iraqi radical groups, "the current level of readiness of the resistance is at the second level, where the targets of attacks [on Israeli territory] are determined in coordination with all factions and exclude civilian structures." He stated that if the readiness of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq militias is raised to level five, the highest level, they "will engage in open combat with no restrictions." He argued that "from that point on, the [Iraqi] resistance units will have the opportunity to reach Dimona."

The Shia formations in Iraq have become more active due to military escalation in the Middle East caused by the infiltration of Palestinian Hamas militants into Israeli territory from Gaza, accompanied by the killing of residents in Israel’s border settlements and taking hostages. Hamas described its attack as retaliation for the aggressive actions taken by Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and started launching airstrikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria before starting a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave.