Follow Us on Google
At least 20 militants, including several Iranian advisers, were killed in coordinated US-Saudi airstrikes on Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq, escalating tensions in a region already strained by renewed hostilities between Washington and Tehran.
The strikes, carried out on Wednesday, targeted positions linked to the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), also known as the Hashed al-Shaabi, an Iraqi security alliance that includes several pro-Iran factions.
According to the Hashed al-Shaabi, at least 20 fighters were killed while another 32 sustained injuries in the attacks.
Two officials of the group told AFP that five Iranian military advisers were among those killed in strikes in Iraq’s central Diyala province. During funeral ceremonies held in Baghdad, AFP correspondents observed coffins draped in Iranian flags.
The United States and Saudi Arabia said the operation was launched in response to recent attacks on US military personnel and Saudi oil facilities, which they blamed on Iran-backed armed groups operating in Iraq.
US President Donald Trump said the strikes were coordinated with the Iraqi government, according to Fox News, amid increasing pressure from Washington on Baghdad to disarm pro-Iran militias accused of repeatedly targeting American facilities.
Other News
The latest military action came shortly after Saudi Arabia announced it had intercepted drones aimed at its oil infrastructure, attributing the attempted attacks to Iran-backed groups based in Iraq.
However, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an alliance of pro-Iran armed factions, denied responsibility for the attacks on Saudi Arabia. While threatening retaliation against what it described as the “American enemy” and its regional allies, the group said it would delay any response until after the Arbaeen pilgrimage.
The strikes also place renewed pressure on Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, whose government has pledged to ensure armed groups surrender their weapons before a September 30 deadline, despite resistance from influential militia factions.
Iraq condemned the US-Saudi strikes, describing them as a violation of its sovereignty and rejecting “all acts of aggression” regardless of the parties involved.
The country’s Ministerial Council for National Security said Iraq would confront any breach of its sovereignty and prevent its territory from being used to threaten neighbouring countries, while reaffirming the government’s commitment to maintaining the state’s exclusive control over weapons.
The latest escalation underscores Iraq’s continuing struggle to balance relations with both the United States and Iran as regional rivalries increasingly play out on its soil.
