Middle East crisis deepens as US, Saudi forces strike ‘Iran-backed’ groups in Iraq | The Express Tribune

At least 10 members of an Iraqi former paramilitary alliance were killed in United States-Saudi strikes on their bases in the country, two alliance sources told AFP.

“These attacks resulted in the martyrdom of a number of personnel and injuries to others, as well as material damage to several buildings and properties,” said the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), known as the Hashed al-Shaabi in Arabic, in a statement.

A PMF official told AFP that the strikes hit positions belonging to the alliance “across several provinces, with the deadliest attack in Nineveh province, where at least 10 members were martyred,” adding that the toll would likely rise. Injuries were reported in other provinces, he added, while another official confirmed the initial toll.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said US and Saudi forces carried out joint precision strikes against Iranian-aligned groups in Iraq, claiming the operation targeted sites linked to attacks on US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.

According to CENTCOM, US and Saudi fighter jets struck multiple logistics and weapons facilities in eastern Iraq in response to more than 30 drone attacks allegedly directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over the previous 72 hours.

The PMF, a predominantly Iranian-backed coalition of Shiite armed groups, said several of its headquarters were hit in the strikes, resulting in deaths, injuries and property damage.

The PMF is an alliance of paramilitaries and factions created in 2014 to fight jihadists, and is now integrated into the Iraqi armed forces. Iran-backed groups have brigades that operate within the alliance, but many of these groups have a reputation for acting on their own.

In a statement on Wednesday, the PMF described the US-Saudi strikes as a “dangerous escalation, a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, and an attack on its official security institutions”.

The US-Saudi strikes came after Riyadh said its forces had intercepted drones targeting oil facilities in the east, blaming Iran-backed groups in Iraq. But these groups described Saudi Arabia’s accusations as “fabrications”, and warned it against attacking Iraq.

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The most active pro-Iran armed groups are united under an alliance known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which has interfered in support of Tehran during the Middle East war, claiming hundreds of attacks against US bases in Iraq and across the region. But they have not claimed any attacks since hostilities between the US and Iran resumed earlier this month.

Washington and Tehran are Iraq’s main allies, but their enmity has long turned the country into a proxy battleground and left successive governments struggling to maintain a delicate balance between the foes.

Amid growing US pressure, Iraq’s new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who came to power this year with Washington’s blessing, vowed to ensure pro-Iran armed groups would hand over their weapons, but has faced pushback from some powerful factions.

Earlier this month, Zaidi visited both the US and Iran.

Iraqi premier orders emergency security meeting after strikes

Al-Zaidi ordered an emergency meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security following the Saudi-US airstrikes, the Security Media Cell said.

In a statement, the Security Media Cell said al-Zaidi, who also serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, instructed the council to convene urgently in response to “security developments and the aerial bombardment the country was subjected to at dawn today.”

It said a detailed statement outlining the developments and decisions taken during the meeting would be issued afterward.