Iraq’s Joint Operations Command condemns strikes on PMF positions in Kirkuk and Anbar

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Joint Operations Command condemned airstrikes that targeted Popular Mobilization Forces positions in Kirkuk and Anbar early Thursday, describing the attacks as a “violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.”

The command said it was following “with great concern and condemnation the blatant and aggressive attacks that targeted the heroes of the Popular Mobilization Forces while they were carrying out their sacred national duties alongside their brothers in our security forces.”

It warned that “the continuation of these violations, abuses, and systematic and repeated aggression, and the failure to distinguish targets, contributes to mixing the cards, threatening societal peace and undermining the foundations of security and stability,” adding that the attacks “provoke a state of great resentment and anger among our patient people, holding the attacking parties fully responsible for the dangerous consequences.”

The statement said the latest strikes hit Kirkuk and the Akashat area of Anbar, and were “preceded by blatant attacks in Suwayra district and various sites and headquarters across the country.”

It follows a strike on a PMF site near the Badr neighborhood of Kirkuk, with initial reports indicating one fighter killed and seven wounded. A separate strike hit the 19th Brigade in the Akashat area of Anbar near the Iraq-Syria border; a PMF source told 964media 29 fighters were killed and 15 wounded, figures 964media has not been able to verify.

Several Iran-aligned factions operating under the PMF umbrella announced their participation in the regional conflict after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran Feb. 28, also operating under the umbrella name Islamic Resistance in Iraq — which includes Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, among others.

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