US claims airstrike in Iraq, paramilitaries say Iran-backed member killed

The US military carried out an airstrike in Iraq late Tuesday targeting a group of combatants preparing to launch a drone, a US official told Al Arabiya English.

Based on recent attacks it was assessed that the uncrewed aerial systems posed a threat to US and Coalition Forces. “We maintain the inherent right to self-defense and will not hesitate to take appropriate action,” the official said, days after multiple attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria.

The official added: “This action underscores the United States' commitment to the safety and security of our personnel.”

A security source and an Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) official said explosions ripped through a base belonging to former pro-Iran paramilitaries south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Tuesday. The blasts at a base killed one member and wounded seven others, police and medical sources said.

“Blasts occurred in a base belonging to the PMF” in Babylon province, the security source said, referring to an alliance of pro-Iranian former paramilitary groups now integrated into the regular army.

“The cause of the blasts was not immediately known,” the source added, but a PMF official said an “airstrike” hit the base.

On July 18, an explosion hit “logistics” warehouses belonging to PMF south of Baghdad, and in April, one person was killed and eight wounded in a blast at a military base housing Hashed groups in Babylon province.

PMF is an integral part of the Iraqi security apparatus under the authority of the prime minister.

It includes some pro-Iran groups that have carried out dozens of attacks against US forces in Iraq and neighboring Syria.