Air strike in Iraq kills Iran-backed militia leader
An air strike on the logistical support headquarters of an Iran-backed militia in central Baghdad has killed a highranking commander, officials from the group said.
Yesterday’s strike comes amid mounting regional tensions fuelled by the Israelhamas war and fears it could spill over into surrounding countries.
The Popular Mobilisation Force (PMF) – a coalition of militias nominally under the control of the Iraqi military – said its deputy head of operations in Baghdad, Mushtaq Taleb al-saidi (also known as Abu Taqwa) was killed “as a result of brutal American aggression”.
An anonymous US official confirmed the country’s forces conducted a strike on a vehicle in Baghdad against the group Harakat al-nujaba. One of the militias within the PMF, it was designated a terrorist organisation by Washington in 2019.
Iraqi military spokesman Yehia Rasool said the Iraqi army blames the Us-led International Coalition Forces for the “unprovoked attack on an Iraqi security body operating in accordance with the powers granted to it”.
The primary mission of the Us-led coalition is to fight the Islamic State terrorist group, which continues to carry out periodic attacks in Iraq despite having lost its hold on the territory it once controlled in 2017. Since then, the coalition has transitioned from a combat role to an advisory and training mission.
The PMF is a group of Iranian-backed, primarily Shiite militias, officially under the command of the Iraqi army but in practice operating independently. It was also key in the fight against the Sunni extremist group after it overran much of Iraq in 2014.
Yesterday’s strike killed two people and wounded five more, according to two militia officials.
One also said Mr al-saidi was driving with another militia official into the garage of the headquarters affiliated with the al-nujaba militia, a member of the PMF, when the car was hit, killing both of them.
Heavy security was deployed around the location of the strike on Baghdad’s Palestine Street and Iraqi war planes could be seen flying overhead.
An Associated Press photographer was eventually allowed access to the scene of the strike, where he saw the remains of a charred car.
Since the outbreak of the Israel-hamas war on October 7, a group of Iranian-backed militias calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has carried out more than 100 attacks on bases housing US troops in Iraq and Syria.
The group said the attacks are in retaliation for Washington’s support of Israel in the war against Hamas which has killed more than 20,000 people in Gaza, and that they aim to push US forces out of Iraq. Yesterday’s air strike is likely to increase calls for a US departure.
Last week, Iraqi prime minister Mohammed Shia al-sudani – who came to power with the backing of Iran-linked political factions but has also attempted to maintain good relations with the US – said his government is “proceeding to end the presence of the international coalition forces”.