Sudani visits PMF headquarters, vows no leniency over strikes

BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visited Popular Mobilization Forces headquarters in Baghdad on Thursday, declaring the government “cannot be lenient in the face of any targeting of PMF fighters and the rest of our armed forces” as airstrikes on the group’s positions continued across multiple governorates.

Sudani praised the PMF’s role in “protecting Iraq and strengthening its sovereignty and independence” and rejected accusations that the force operates outside state authority. “Accusing the Popular Mobilization Forces of acting outside the framework of the state and the law is either ignorance or deliberate misinformation with specific aims,” he said, describing the PMF as “a fundamental force operating under the constitution and the law.” He confirmed directives to support families of fallen fighters and the wounded, including housing and care.

He also reiterated Iraq’s position on the regional war, stressing the government will not allow “any party to drag Iraq into the ongoing war in the region” while continuing to protect vital infrastructure and diplomatic missions.

The visit came as strikes on PMF positions mounted through the day. The PMF said the Nineveh Operations Command headquarters was hit Thursday evening in what it described as a joint U.S.-Israeli strike, with no casualties but material damage. Earlier in the day, the 12th Brigade’s positions in Tarmiyah district north of Baghdad were also struck, again with material damage only. Earlier Thursday, one fighter was killed and two wounded in the Nineveh Plain. The strikes follow six killed and four wounded in Qaim district, Anbar, earlier this week, and the death of Kataib Hezbollah security chief Abu Ali al-Askari in a strike on a Baghdad house. The PMF says airstrikes have now hit its positions across seven governorates since the war began Feb. 28, killing dozens of fighters.

Neither Israel nor the United States has publicly claimed responsibility for any of the strikes.

Iraq says it has filed ‘legal’ proceedings over the attacks, though the venue for such action has not been specified.