'US drone strike' in Baghdad kills Iran-linked PMF commander

Three members of Iraq’s Iran-aligned Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), including a senior commander, were killed on Thursday after an alleged US drone strike targeted one of the group’s logistic centres in Baghdad, local media reported.

The attack on the Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba base in the east of the Iraqi capital is believed to have left at least six others wounded including its commander, Abu Taqwa Al-Saeedi.

Footage on social media purportedly from the scene showed considerable devastation, with rubble replacing several buildings.

The strike targeted a building used by the militia, officially known as the 12th Brigade, which is a component force of the PMF and is known to have particularly close ties with Tehran.

Though no party has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, the Iraqi government has accused and condemned the US for the strike.

A statement from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's office labelled the strike a "dangerous escalation and aggression".

"The Iraqi armed forces hold the forces of the international coalition [the US] responsible for this attack," the statement read.

The Nujaba Movement’s spokesperson also blamed the US, saying al-Saeedi was "martyred by America's vile aggression". 

An Iraqi security source also told The New Arab that the strike was carried out by a US drone.

The 12th Brigade serves as the PMF’s logistical support headquarters and is located at the Police College on Palestine Street, where the air assault took place.

The PMF, also known as Hashd Al-Shaabi, is a state-sponsored umbrella organisation composed of some 40 militias that are predominantly Shia, with many having close ties to the Iranian regime.

Baghdad has struggled to handle the group as it tries to maintain close ties with both the US and Iran.

Since Israel launched a war on Gaza in October with full diplomatic and material support from Washington, pro-Iran forces in the PMF have been implicated in a number of attacks against US troops in Iraq and Syria.

Wednesday's strike follows the Pentagon's announcement of US military action against 18 sites in Iraq used by pro-Iranian factions of the PMF that left at least one dead and dozens wounded in response to a Christmas Day attack by militias that wounded US personnel.

The back and forth between US forces in Iraq and pro-Iran militias has raised the prospect of Israel’s war on Gaza leading to more regional spillover.