Mystery airstrikes pound Iraqi militia base near Syria

A series of explosions have taken place at a base belonging to an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia.

2 min read

22 September, 2019

Israel has previously targeted pro-Iranian Iraqi militias [Getty]

Iraqi security sources said on Sunday that violent explosions caused by airstrikes took place at a base belonging to an Iran-backed Iraqi militia in Anbar province in western Iraq, causing major damage.

The base, belonging to the “Tafuf Brigade” militia, was the scene of four explosions, according to an Iraqi security official.

The security official told The New Arab that drones may have been used in the attack.

A commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces militia coalition, Qasim Muslih, said that the base was 120 kilometres away from Syria, near a point where Syria, Jordan, and Iraq meet.

He said that the “strike was very strong, shaking nearby buildings, and up until now we don’t know if it was from inside or outside Iraq.”

No casualties were reported in the strike that hit the main headquarters of the Popular Mobilisation Forces militias in the area.

There was no claim of responsibility for the strike but last month, the US confirmed that Israel had carried out airstrikes on pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. Last week, Israel was also thought to have struck pro-Iranian militias in eastern Syria, near the Iraqi border, killing dozens of militiamen.

In response to the previous Israeli strikes, the Iraqi government imposed new restrictions on foreign military aircraft overflying its territory.

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