Sudani calls emergency security meeting after airstrike kills 15 PMF fighters

BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered an emergency meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security on Tuesday after an airstrike on a Popular Mobilization Forces headquarters in Anbar governorate killed 15 personnel and wounded others.

Sudani’s office described the strike as part of “a clear and premeditated approach in targeting our courageous security forces,” saying the attack confirmed “an aggressive approach” of “heinous and blatant crimes against our heroic security forces.” It said the deaths would not weaken the resolve of Iraqi forces “but will increase their strength and cohesion.”

The PMF said Anbar operations commander Saad Daway al-Baiji was among the dead, along with 14 others killed in what it described as “a treacherous American airstrike” on the command headquarters. In a separate strike, two fighters from the 47th Brigade were wounded in Jurf al-Nasr, Babil — a site struck four times Sunday, wounding a member of a medical unit.

Tuesday’s toll is one of the deadliest single strikes on PMF personnel since the regional war began Feb. 28. Airstrikes have hit PMF positions across multiple governorates, killing dozens of fighters in total. Neither the United States nor Israel has publicly claimed responsibility for any of the strikes.