Airstrikes kill 15 Iran-backed troops in Iraq, targeting HQ and leader |
Airstrikes in Iraq killed 15 members of Iraq’s umbrella group for Iran-backed Shiite militia on Tuesday, the deadliest attack on the group since the Iran war began.
The Popular Mobilization Forces, part of Iraq’s regular armed forces but which also includes brigades belonging to Iran-backed groups, blamed the strike that killed a commander and 14 other fighters on the United States.
Iraq has been pulled into the war triggered by Israel and the United States striking Iran on February 28, and which has since engulfed much of the region.
PMF leader Falih al-Fayadh was not present when his residence was hit in the northern city of Mosul, which he uses only during visits to the city, according to two security sources.
The dead included the PMF’s operations commander in the province, Saad al-Baiji. Later on Tuesday, a large crowd of angry mourners carried his coffin and portraits of him through the streets of Baghdad.
The statement said US forces had targeted a command headquarters in Anbar while personnel were on duty. The security sources said the strikes there hit during a meeting attended by senior commanders.
On Tuesday, the PMF urged “political forces to take responsibility and confront these repeated American violations.”
Thirty other people were wounded, security and health sources said. The health sources said some of the wounded were in critical condition and the death toll could rise. Reuters filmed ambulances bringing the wounded to hospital in the regional capital Ramadi during the night.
The PMF, known in Arabic as Hashd al-Shaabi, is an umbrella group of mostly Shiite paramilitary factions that was formally integrated into Iraq’s state security forces and includes several groups aligned with Iran.
In autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, a ballistic missile attack killed six peshmergas on Tuesday, with the region accusing Iran of conducting the first such deadly attack since the war began.
Although close with Washington, Iraq’s Kurds have sought to maintain neutrality in the Iran war, after their relations with the Islamic Republic had warmed in recent years.
Neither the United States nor Iran commented on the accusations.
Last week, the Pentagon acknowledged that combat helicopters had carried out strikes against pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq during the current conflict.
Tehran-backed armed groups have launched attacks on US bases in Iraq and the US embassy since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran on February 28.
The conflict has spilled beyond Iran’s borders, with Tehran launching strikes on Israel and Gulf Arab states hosting US military installations, while Israel has carried out attacks in Lebanon following cross-border fire by Iran-aligned Hezbollah.
Are you relying on The Times of Israel for accurate and timely coverage of the Iran war right now? If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6/month, you will:
Support our independent journalists who are working around the clock under difficult conditions to cover this conflict;
Read ToI with a clear, ads-free experience on our site, apps and emails; and
Gain access to exclusive content shared only with the ToI Community, including weekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
You clearly find our careful reporting of the Iran war valuable, at a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.
Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically during this ongoing conflict.
So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you'll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
1 AnalysisAs Trump steers away from war with Iran, Israel rediscovers cost of riding with him
2 Trump: Deal with Iran to end war close; Israel will be happy; strikes on energy sites postponed
3 Iran’s hardline parliament speaker Mohammed Qalibaf enters spotlight amid reported US talks
4 Netanyahu: Potential Iran deal touted by Trump would protect Israel’s ‘vital interests’
5 AnalysisIsrael and US have tried to take down Iran from the air. History shows the idea lacks legs
6 ‘We are scared, terrified’: London Jews on edge after antisemitic arson attack
7 Fresh flight restrictions thwart Israelis’ Passover plans, send carriers scrambling
8 Recipe insideIranian Israelis mark Nowruz, the Persian New Year, as an act of solidarity and resistance
2026 US-Israel war with Iran
Popular Mobilization Force