The United States and Saudi Arabia stated that they attacked Iran-backed fighters in Iraq in response to attacks on US forces and Saudi oil facilities.
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“These attacks resulted in the suffering (death) of many employees and injuries to others, as well as causing material damage to several buildings and property,” said a statement from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), known in Arabic as “Hashed al Shaabi”.
A PMF official told AFP news agency that positions belonging to the alliance were hit in several provinces and that the attack in Nineveh province caused the most casualties, with at least 10 members killed. It was added that the number of casualties is likely to increase.
Injuries were reported in other provinces, the source said. Another official confirmed the initial casualty count.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
The PMF is an alliance of armed groups and factions created in 2014 to fight jihadists, now integrated into the Iraqi armed forces.
Iran-backed groups have brigades operating within the alliance, but many of these groups are known for independent actions.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the PMF described the US and Saudi strikes as “a dangerous escalation, a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, and an attack on the country’s official security institutions.”
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The US and Saudi strikes were carried out after Riyadh reported that its forces intercepted drones targeting oil facilities in the east and blamed Iran-backed groups in Iraq for this.
However, these groups called Saudi Arabia’s accusations fabrications and warned it not to attack Iraq.
The most active pro-Iranian armed groups have united into the alliance “Islamic Resistance in Iraq,” which intervened during the Middle East war supporting Tehran and claimed responsibility for hundreds of attacks on US bases in Iraq and across the region.
However, they have not claimed responsibility for any attacks since hostilities between the US and Iran resumed earlier this month.
Washington and Tehran are key allies of Iraq, but their discord has long turned Iraq into a battlefield of proxy wars, with the Iraqi government constantly trying to maintain a fragile balance between these adversaries.
Amid increasing US pressure, the new Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi, who came to power this year with Washington’s blessing, promised to ensure that pro-Iranian armed groups would surrender their weapons but faced resistance from some influential factions.
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Earlier this month, A. al Zaidi visited both the United States and Iran.
