Baghdad, Iraq. Airstrikes hit a headquarters of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces in Anbar province and a residence linked to its leader in Mosul on Tuesday, killing at least 15 fighters and wounding about 30 others, according to Iraqi officials and statements.
Strikes in Anbar and reported casualties
Medical officials said the strikes on a PMF headquarters in Iraq’s Euphrates valley province of Anbar wounded at least 30 people, some seriously, and said the death toll could rise. Reuters filmed ambulances bringing the wounded to hospital in the regional capital Ramadi during the night.
The dead included the PMF’s operations commander in the province, Saad al-Baiji. Later on Tuesday, mourners carried his coffin and portraits through the streets of Baghdad.
Two security sources said the strikes hit the PMF headquarters during a meeting attended by senior commanders.
Strike on Mosul residence linked to PMF leader
A separate airstrike hit a residence belonging to PMF leader Falih al-Fayadh in the northern city of Mosul, two security sources said. They said he was not present at the building, which he uses only during visits to the city.
A PMF statement said its office in Mosul was destroyed and one fighter was wounded there.
Political and security response
The strikes added pressure on Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al‑Sudani, who faces competing demands to maintain support from Washington and from Iran-aligned factions in the Shi’ite-majority country.
Sudani ordered an emergency meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security, according to a statement from the Iraqi military’s joint operations command.
The statement said 15 PMF fighters were killed in a “U.S.-Zionist airstrike,” the first time Iraq’s military has blamed Israel alongside the United States for bombing the PMF.
Background on the PMF and recent attacks
The PMF, known in Arabic as Hashd al-Shaabi, is an umbrella group of mostly Shi’ite paramilitary factions that was formally integrated into Iraq’s state security forces and includes several groups aligned with Iran.
Tehran-backed armed groups have launched attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and the U.S. embassy since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran on February 28. Washington has had an influential presence in Baghdad since its 2003 invasion that overthrew Saddam Hussein and replaced him with Shi’ite-led governments friendly with Iran.
How do you think the airstrikes will affect Iraq’s internal political balance between the government, the PMF, and foreign partners?
