Airstrikes on a site belonging to Iraq’s Shi’ite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Anbar province killed at least 14 fighters and wounded about 30 overnight, security and health officials told Reuters. Among the dead was the PMF’s Anbar operations commander, Saad al-Baiji, the group said in a statement.
The PMF said the strike hit a command headquarters while personnel were on duty and accused the United States of carrying out the attack. Security sources said the raids struck the PMF headquarters during a security meeting attended by senior commanders.
The PMF, also known as Hashd al-Shaabi, is an umbrella of mostly Shi’ite paramilitary factions that was formally integrated into Iraq’s state security forces and includes groups aligned with Iran.
Separately, at least six Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were killed and 22 wounded in an overnight rocket attack on a base north of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, security and Peshmerga officials said. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for that strike.
Tehran-backed armed groups have increased attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq since the escalation of the conflict in February, stoking fears of a wider regional confrontation. The fighting has spread beyond Iran’s borders: Tehran has launched strikes on Israel and on Gulf Arab states that host U.S. military facilities, while Israel has conducted attacks in Lebanon following cross-border fire by Iran-aligned Hezbollah.
