Suspected airstrikes hit Popular Mobilization Forces sites in Nineveh

BAGHDAD — Unidentified aircraft struck two Popular Mobilization Forces positions in Nineveh on Saturday evening, killing one fighter and wounding three others, in the latest of a series of strikes targeting Iran-aligned groups across Iraq since the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran began Feb. 28.

Iraq’s Security Media Cell said Brigade 40 and the 33rd Regiment were hit at 6:10 p.m., causing casualties and material damage. No party has claimed responsibility.

The strikes follow a pattern of similar attacks this month. On March 2, four PMF members were killed and 11 wounded in airstrikes on positions in Qaim district, Anbar, with aircraft returning to strike again as fighters evacuated the wounded. A day earlier, suspected strikes hit Kataib Hezbollah positions in the Akashat area of Qaim, killing two and wounding five. Airstrikes were also reported in Jurf al-Sakhar, Babil, targeting sites linked to armed groups.

Neither the United States nor Israel has claimed any of the strikes on PMF positions in Iraq.

Among those that have claimed repeated drone and missile attacks in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in recent days are PMF-affiliated factions.

The PMF is a coalition of mostly Shia militias established in 2014 to fight the Islamic State and formally incorporated into Iraq’s security forces in 2016, though many factions retain independent structures and close ties to Iran.