Several PMF members wounded in strike on base in central Iraq

ISTANBUL

Several members of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) were wounded Wednesday after a strike targeted one of the group’s headquarters in Wasit province in central Iraq, local media reported.

Shafaq News, citing an unnamed security source, said that one of the PMF headquarters in the Suwayra district in Wasit came under attack. The source did not identify the party responsible.

The strike resulted in several injuries, though the exact number was not immediately specified, the source said.

Iraqi security forces cordoned off the area where the attack occurred, the source added, without providing further details.

On Tuesday, the Iraqi army announced that PMF members were killed and wounded in a strike targeting one of their headquarters in Kirkuk province in northern Iraq, describing it as a “blatant attack.”

Local media reported that six people were killed when the headquarters of the PMF’s 40th Brigade was hit northwest of Kirkuk.

The PMF, also known as the Hashd al-Shaabi, was originally formed on June 14, 2014, as a volunteer force supporting Iraqi security forces in the fight against the ISIS (Daesh) terror group. It was formally incorporated into Iraq’s armed forces by a government decree in July 2016.

The attack came as the United States and Israel continued airstrikes on Iran that began Feb. 28, killing more than 1,200 people and injuring over 10,000 others.

Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries that are home to US military assets.

*Writing by Lina Altawell