At least 20 people were killed and 32 others wounded after the United States and Saudi Arabia carried out coordinated airstrikes against Iran-linked “logistics and weapons sites” across Iraq, prompting Baghdad to convene an emergency national security meeting as Tehran announced retaliatory missile strikes on US military facilities in Jordan.
The Popular Mobilization Forces is an umbrella organization within Iraq’s official security apparatus.
It was established in 2014 as ISIS expanded across Iraq and brought together state-backed forces and existing militias to fight the group. The PMF played a major role in defeating ISIS and was formally incorporated into Iraq’s security structure in 2016.
At least 20 people have been killed and 32 others wounded after US and Saudi Arabian forces carried out joint strikes against Iran-linked “logistics and weapons sites” in Iraq, according to a statement from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) posted on Telegram.
The Iran-aligned group said the attacks targeted its positions across seven Iraqi provinces including Baghdad, Wasit, Nineveh, Basra, Kirkuk, Karbala and Diyala causing varying degrees of damage to military headquarters, vehicles and equipment.
The PMF said the casualty figures recorded in initial stage and could rise as field assessments continue.
In an earlier statement, the PMF’s 30th Brigade said seven airstrikes struck key sites in Nineveh province in northern Iraq at around 3:20 am local time, killing 10 people and injuring six others.
“We consider this targeting to be a highly dangerous escalation, a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, and an attack on its official security institutions,” the PMF said.
The strikes prompted Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih Al-Zaidi to call an emergency meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security on Wednesday, according to a statement from his office.
The US military and Saudi Arabian forces said the joint strikes were carried out in response to attacks on US personnel and Saudi oil facilities by Iran-backed militias.
US Central Command and the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces conducted precision strikes in Iraq, July 28, against Iran-aligned “terrorists” that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed to attack U.S. forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.
“US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq in a strong response to over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours.The unwarranted attacks against U.S. forces were not successful,” Centcom said in a statement.
It added that more than 600 attempted attacks had been carried out by Iran-aligned militias against US citizens and facilities in Iraq between February and April this year.
“The IRGC and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further U.S. military response,” the statement said.
However, several powerful PMF factions maintain close ties with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and are part of Tehran’s regional network of allied groups. These Iran-backed factions have repeatedly targeted US forces and their allies in the Middle East.
Hours after the strikes, Iran announced retaliatory action.
Meanwhile,the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says that its Aerospace Force has targeted a US air base and the US military’s CENTCOM headquarters in Jordan with ballistic missiles.
In a statement issued early Wednesday, the IRGC Aerospace Force said the attack was carried out in response to aggressive actions by the US military against Iran.
The brave combatants of the IRGC Aerospace Force targeted the US air base and the CENTCOM headquarters of the US military in Jordan with several ballistic missiles, the statement said.
It added that resistance would continue as long as threats against the Islamic Republic, as well as illegal and hostile moves by US forces against Iranian interests, persist.
“Threats by US officials and illegal interventions against our interests must stop,” the statement said.
