According to a report in the Arab-language Al-Hayat newspaper, a delegation from the Israeli intelligence service, the Mossad, visited Baghdad last month in order to coordinate its anti-terrorism efforts with U.S. forces in Iraq.

Basing its report on comments made by an anonymous Kurdish official, the newspaper claimed that the delegation carried out a field tour in the Iraqi capital and aerial tours in a U.S. military helicopter above Mosul, Tikrit and Ramadi.

The official claimed that U.S.-Israeli security coordination in Iraq has been stepped up.

While there have been reports that Israeli companies have been invited by the U.S. to do business in Iraq, this is the first report of Israeli security officials visiting the country.

Iran’s spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mentioned last week that an Israeli delegation visited Baghdad, without identifying the nature of its mission.