Israeli intelligence has uncovered and destroyed Iran's contingency plan for its internal security forces, striking mustering points in what became some of the deadliest attacks of the entire war, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
After Israel systematically hit headquarters and command centers of the Revolutionary Guard, Basij militia and special police forces starting on the second day of the war, intelligence services discovered that Iran had a fallback plan: security personnel were instructed to regroup at local sports complexes, according to "Hvylya", citing The Wall Street Journal.
Israel watched the sites fill up, then struck before the end of the first week. Battle-damage assessments reviewed by the Journal showed these attacks killed hundreds of security and military personnel, with the vast majority of casualties at Azadi Stadium - a large venue normally used for soccer matches. Footage verified by Storyful showed security officers lying on the pavement outside another stadium.
The strikes extended well beyond Tehran. At one point, Israel hit around 34 different sites related to internal security forces in Ilam Province alone - a western region near the Iraqi border with a large Kurdish population. The Iranian Kurds have a tense relationship with the central government and maintain their own armed groups.
Security personnel who survived pushed into Gandhi Hospital in Tehran and forced patients to make room for the wounded, one doctor said. Iranian officials denounced the strikes as attacks on civilian targets. State media published pictures of the aftermath but did not mention the presence of security forces at the sites.
The Israeli military also said it hit a Ministry of Intelligence command center operating out of an Iranian Electricity Company compound in central Tehran. Iranian state media said the strike killed several employees and engineers, with additional bystanders killed and injured.
Also read: Friedman: If the IRGC Holds Out, There Will Be Only One Option Left for Trump.