Dawa Party condemns attacks on PMF, calls for political unity

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Islamic Dawa Party on Thursday condemned attacks targeting Popular Mobilization Forces and Iraqi armed forces positions, describing them as a violation of national sovereignty and calling on political forces to unite.

In a statement, the party said the attacks had provoked anger across the country.

“The treacherous attack on the Popular Mobilization Forces and the armed forces in various sectors has sparked widespread dissatisfaction and anger among Iraqis, as it constitutes a blatant violation of national sovereignty and causes instability in security and stability,” the statement said.

It “condemned these attacks that have been repeated recently,” the statement said, urging “the government to take effective measures to confront them by possible means and to present the people with the facts related to this aggression against Iraq.”

The Dawa Party also called on political forces to close ranks.

It urged “all political forces to unite, cooperate and assume national responsibility in this difficult circumstance, and work to protect the country from the wave of turbulent events and the repercussions of the unjust war in the region.”

The statement comes after a series of reported attacks on Popular Mobilization Forces positions across Iraq since the regional conflict escalated Feb. 28.

Earlier Thursday, an airstrike targeted a PMF base in the Badr neighborhood of Kirkuk belonging to a brigade of Turkmen fighters commanded by Abu Ali Beg. A PMF source told 964media that one fighter was killed and seven wounded, while other security sources cited higher casualty figures.

In a separate strike the same day, the PMF’s 19th Brigade in the Akashat area of Anbar near the Iraq-Syria border was targeted. A PMF source told 964media that 29 fighters were killed and 15 wounded, though those figures have not been independently verified.

The Popular Mobilization Forces said Thursday that 32 airstrikes have targeted its headquarters across seven governorates since the start of the regional war, killing 27 fighters and wounding 50.

In a statement, the PMF expressed “categorical rejection and strong condemnation” of what it described as attacks “carried out by American aircraft, in a blatant aggression and a serious violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.”

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