Significant strikes were carried out overnight between Friday and Saturday against targets of Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, south of Baghdad, as reported by Saudi-owned Al-Hadath network. Additionally, Iraqi media claimed that the attack was carried out by a number of drones targeting a military base belonging to the militias.  Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces said on Saturday that the explosion which took place at its command post at Kalso military base was the result of an attack.

One member of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces was killed and eight wounded in an explosion at its command post on the Kalso military base 50 km (30 miles) south of Baghdad, a military statement said on Saturday.

There were no drones or fighter jets detected in the air space of the Babylon area before or during the blast, the military confirmed in a statement.

According to reports, during the attack, two separate waves of strikes were conducted. Two PMF sources claimed that the strikes did not lead to casualties but caused material damage.

“The blast has caused material damage and injuries,” PMF said in a statement, adding that a team was investigating. This is despite a report from two sources at a hospital in the nearby city of Hilla who said that one PMF fighter was killed and six were wounded.

PMF sources said the strikes targeted a headquarters of the PMF at the Kalso military base near the town of Iskandariya around 50 km south of Baghdad.

According to Al-Hadath, the attack was carried out by three F-35 jets. An American official claimed the attack was conducted outside Iran’s territory. However, another report by CNN stated that no significant damage was recorded at the site. The attack took place near Osfia, located in Iran.

Dozens of American and Israeli aircraft were reportedly flying in the vicinity of Iraq, according to sources in the country. Additionally, the Iraqi sources claimed that among the waves of bombings to the south of the city Baghdad, an arsenal of weapons belonging to Iranian militias was attacked.

However, two security sources said it was not known who was responsible for the air strike and a US official said there had been no US military activity in Iraq. CNN reported that also Israel denied participation at bombing.

US mission in Syria and Iraq

On January 2024, a US airstrike foiled an attack on Ain al-Asad air base, which hosts US and other international forces in western Iraq. According to US military sources, a rocket launcher was fixed to a small truck that was parked east of the base with rockets ready to be fired.

With 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 more in Iraq, the US claimed their mission is to advise and assist local forces trying to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State.

The Iraqi militia PMF is an Iranian backed militia and is numbered more than 100,000 fighters. After ISIS’s defeat in Iraq, the militia became an official government-paid force linked to the Iraqi Interior Ministry. The newly official force began stockpiling missiles and drones and to operate more freely in Syria, threatening US and Israeli forces.

In 2020,  an American strike killed Suleimani on a trip to Baghdad. The Guards Intelligence Department suspected that an informant from the PMF provided details about Suleimani’s trip. This lead to his successor, Ismail Ghani, decision to create a force that was fiercely loyal to the regime.

Reuters contributed to this report.

This is a developing story.