Iraq
Smoke rises following an airstrike on a PMF base in eastern Baghdad on January 4, 2024. Photo: PMF-affiliated Telegram channels
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An unidentified airstrike on an Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) base in eastern Baghdad on Thursday killed two commanders, PMF-affiliated media reported, accusing the US of being behind the attack.
The strike targeted a PMF base in Baghdad’s Palestine Street and resulted in “two commanders martyred and six wounded among the ranks of the 12th Brigade of the Popular Mobilization Forces,” Sabreen News, affiliated with the PMF, reported on Telegram.
Harakat al-Nujaba comprises the PMF’s 12th brigade, and is among the Iran-backed groups that Washington blames for a spate of drone attacks on American interests in Iraq and Syria since mid-October in response to American support for Israel in its war against Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
Among the casualties is Mushtaq Talib al-Saeedi, better known as Abu Taqwa. He was a former commander of al-Nujaba and the deputy commander of the PMF’s Baghdad Belt Operations.
In a statement, the PMF officially blamed the US for the strike.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups backed by Iran and affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has claimed responsibility for most of the recent attacks, numbering at over 100, on US troops in Iraq and Syria.
The latest strike comes amid increased hostilities against the backdrop of the Israel-Gaza war with Israeli strikes targeting commanders of Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, as well as the assassination of a top IRGC commander in Syria.
The Iraqi government previously denounced the attacks on US personnel in the country, but an American retaliatory attack against the pro-Iran groups which killed eight members of the government-linked PMF in late November triggered heavy backlash from Baghdad, who condemned the attack and labeled it as a violation of its sovereignty.
A suicide drone in late December targeted forces of coalition based near Erbil International Airport, wounding three US service members, one critically.
US forces retaliated with airstrikes targeting multiple locations of pro-Iran militia groups in Babil. The Iraqi federal government quickly condemned the US strikes, saying they targeted Iraqi military bases, killing one and injuring 18 others.
The Iraqi government said that its security forces are dedicated to safeguarding diplomatic missions in the country and that Baghdad has previously defined the attacks against them as “hostile acts,” but stressed that the US airstrikes are “unacceptable” and a “violation” of the country’s sovereignty.
Updated at 1:47 pm
Additional reporting by Chenar Chalak
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