ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Several airstrikes hit a base belonging to Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Babil province on Saturday, killing at least two people and wounding others, Iraqi officials and media outlets reported.
Iraq’s Security Media Cell said in a statement that the strikes occurred at around 11:50 am, targeting the Jurf al-Sakhar area, also known as Jurf al-Nasr, killing two people and wounding three. Outlets close to the PMF reported a higher toll, saying two people were killed and at least eight others were injured.
The attack came as the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran earlier Saturday, sharply escalating regional tensions. Several Middle Eastern countries, including Bahrain, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, have been affected by the fallout as Iran retaliates.
The base is formally under the PMF but is primarily used by Kataib Hezbollah. Security officials and PMF sources told AFP that the airstrikes targeted Kataib Hezbollah’s 47th Brigade.
Kataib Hezbollah on Thursday called on its fighters to “prepare to wage a war of attrition that may be long-term, exceeding the estimates of the US administration.”
“Iraq is part of this tension and war that has engulfed the region. If it exists, at any moment, those armed groups who call themselves the Resistance Axis and openly support Iran and are outside Iraq's security system could be attacked,” Abd al-Rahman al-Jazairi, a PMF leader affiliated with the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, told Rudaw before the attacks on Saturday.
“Previously, leaders of the Popular Mobilization Forces and armed groups were targeted, so now the possibility of attacking them is not 99 percent but 100 percent,” Jazairi added.
Kataib Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by Washington.
The United States has long accused Iran of acting through proxy armed groups in Iraq, some of which have previously targeted US interests. Washington has increased pressure on Baghdad to curb Iranian influence and reduce the role of Iran-backed armed factions, reportedly urging the dissolution of all armed groups, including those integrated into state structures such as the Popular Mobilization Forces.
Iraq’s Security Media Cell said in a statement that the strikes occurred at around 11:50 am, targeting the Jurf al-Sakhar area, also known as Jurf al-Nasr, killing two people and wounding three. Outlets close to the PMF reported a higher toll, saying two people were killed and at least eight others were injured.
The attack came as the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran earlier Saturday, sharply escalating regional tensions. Several Middle Eastern countries, including Bahrain, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, have been affected by the fallout as Iran retaliates.
The base is formally under the PMF but is primarily used by Kataib Hezbollah. Security officials and PMF sources told AFP that the airstrikes targeted Kataib Hezbollah’s 47th Brigade.
Kataib Hezbollah on Thursday called on its fighters to “prepare to wage a war of attrition that may be long-term, exceeding the estimates of the US administration.”
“Iraq is part of this tension and war that has engulfed the region. If it exists, at any moment, those armed groups who call themselves the Resistance Axis and openly support Iran and are outside Iraq's security system could be attacked,” Abd al-Rahman al-Jazairi, a PMF leader affiliated with the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, told Rudaw before the attacks on Saturday.
“Previously, leaders of the Popular Mobilization Forces and armed groups were targeted, so now the possibility of attacking them is not 99 percent but 100 percent,” Jazairi added.
Kataib Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by Washington.
The United States has long accused Iran of acting through proxy armed groups in Iraq, some of which have previously targeted US interests. Washington has increased pressure on Baghdad to curb Iranian influence and reduce the role of Iran-backed armed factions, reportedly urging the dissolution of all armed groups, including those integrated into state structures such as the Popular Mobilization Forces.
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