At least one person has been killed and 20 injured in an airstrike against the military base 40 kilometers south of Baghdad, operated by the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a pro-Iran paramilitary structure. The organization indicated that at least three drones hit the main entrance to the base and one of the PMF offices. The base hosts Iraqi military and police, as well as fighters from the PMF, a grouping of several armed factions recognized de facto by the Iraqi authorities as a formal security force. “Explosions occurred in equipment warehouses,” a military source told the AFP agency. “The fire continues and the search for the injured is underway”go.
At the moment, the perpetrator of the attack that occurred on Friday night, one day after the Israeli bombing of Iran, is unknown. Militia sources attributed the bombing to the United States, although Washington has denied involvement in the attack. “We are aware of reports that the United States carried out airstrikes in Iraq today. These reports are not true,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM), which coordinates US interests abroad, said in a tweet.
For its part, the international coalition led by the United States – deployed in Syria and Iraq to fight the Islamic State – reiterated that “they did not participate or attack Iraq” and signaled their intention to continue supporting their “Iraqi partners.” Israeli sources in statements to CNN also denied their participation in the attack. “We will respond to whoever is behind the attack on PMF bases,” declared the secretary general of the Sayyid a-Shuhada brigades, Abu Alaa al-Walai.
In recent months, the United States has attacked headquarters of PMF militias such as Al Nuba and Kataib Hizbul. Both are part of the pro-Iranian militia group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which has carried out more than 160 attacks against US troops in the country since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq is part of the Axis of Resistance, a group of Middle Eastern political parties and militias that operate under the influence of Iran. Since last October, These organizations have carried out attacks and sabotage against Israel or against its main ally, the United States, demanding the cessation of the Israeli offensive in Gaza. The latest was announced last night by the Islamic Resistance, which claimed responsibility for a drone attack against the Israeli Ovda air base, in the south of the country.
The attacks by these paramilitary forces in Iraq have put the Government of Baghdad in a bind, which despite not recognizing the State of Israel, maintains close diplomatic ties with Washington. Baghdad has on several occasions condemned the attacks on US bases, saying that they “harm its sovereignty.” Last January, the government announced the start of negotiations with Washington for the departure of foreign troops from the country, after ending the international mission to fight the Islamic State.
The attack on the base of the Popular Mobilization Forces takes place at a time of great regional tension, days after Iran’s direct attack on Israeli soil. Tehran responded by sending hundreds of drones and missiles to the Israeli air attack on Damascus, which caused the death of seven members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Adding to the tensions is the uncertainty over the imminent Israeli ground offensive in Rafah, south of Gaza, where more than a million Gazans fleeing the fighting in other parts of the Strip have been displaced.