PMF says 32 airstrikes have hit its positions across seven governorates

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s 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, including nine killed and 10 wounded in Thursday’s strikes alone.

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.” It said strikes hit positions in Diyala, Kirkuk, Anbar, Nineveh, Salah al-Din, Wasit and Babil.

The PMF insisted the targeted sites had no involvement in attacks on U.S. bases. “We affirm that these headquarters had no role in targeting American bases inside Iraq or outside it, and that those who rose as martyrs are innocent mujahideen who were performing their official duties, and some of them were stationed on the borders to protect Iraq’s sovereignty and security,” the statement said.

The PMF said it operates within Iraq’s official security structure and in full coordination with the Joint Operations Command, and called on political forces to take “a firm national stance and clear measures to stop these repeated attacks.”

Earlier Thursday, strikes hit 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 one fighter was killed and seven wounded, while other security sources cited higher figures. A separate strike hit the PMF’s 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 that have not been independently verified.

The attacks follow a series of strikes on PMF positions since the conflict began Feb. 28, including Tuesday’s strike on a Kataib Imam Ali position in Dibis, Kirkuk, that killed five fighters and wounded more than 10, and earlier strikes in Qaim, Anbar and north of Baiji in Salah al-Din. Neither the United States nor Israel has claimed responsibility for any of the strikes.