ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Bases and headquarters of the Tehran-aligned Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq have been targeted more than 80 times since the outbreak of the Iran-Israel-US war in late February, the organization said on Friday, as Iraqi armed factions affiliated with Tehran - including those believed to overlap with the PMF - claim they have carried out more than 750 attacks against alleged US-linked assets in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region during the same period.
Data released by the PMF Commission shows that positions of various affiliated armed groups “have been targeted 83 times” since February 28 - the first day of the war - through Thursday, resulting in 73 personnel killed and 61 others injured. Among those killed were regiment commanders and operations officials within the PMF, the Commission added.
The bombardments targeted positions across Iraq, including western Anbar, southern Babil, northern Nineveh, north-central Salahaddin, the capital Baghdad, eastern Diyala, and the disputed Kirkuk province.
Nineveh experienced the highest number of strikes with 12 bombardments, followed by Anbar with 11.
Babil province - specifically the Jurf al-Sakhar area, about 60 km southwest of Baghdad and largely controlled by the powerful Kata’ib Hezbollah group - was hit seven times. Meanwhile, Salahaddin recorded six strikes, while Kirkuk saw four.
The overlap
The PMF was established in 2014 during the Islamic State group (ISIS) blitz, which saw the group seize control of large parts of Iraq’s north and west.
Created in response to a fatwa, a religious edict, by Iraq’s highest Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the PMF was initially an umbrella organization of roughly 70 predominantly Shiite armed groups, with approximately 250,000 members.
While the PMF is a state‑funded institution, it includes factions widely believed to overlap with Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” and, since the outbreak of the Iran war, have engaged in military operations in support of Tehran, operating through shadow groups under the banner of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI).
The IRI emerged in the immediate aftermath of the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, with the core overlap with the PMF including Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, Kata’ib Hezbollah, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada.
Of note, according to data from the PMF Commission, positions linked to Brigades 45 and 47 - both composed largely of Kata’ib Hezbollah members - were the most frequently targeted among all PMF factions, with eight strikes hitting Brigade 45 and two strikes hitting Brigade 47, both of which maintain significant control over Anbar province.
Moreover, in mid-March, Kata’ib Hezbollah said that its spokesperson and senior security official, Abu Ali al-Askari, was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad.
Axis mobilization
The US and Israel launched a coordinated military campaign against Iran on February 28. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Thursday that American forces have struck more than 12,300 targets across Iran since the start of the joint operation, adding that over 155 Iranian vessels have been damaged or destroyed.
CENTCOM Commander Brad Cooper said last week the campaign aims to “eliminate Iran’s ability to project power in meaningful ways beyond its borders.
In response, Tehran has carried out thousands of drone and missile strikes across the Middle East, targeting alleged US assets in the region - particularly in Gulf Arab states - as well as launching retaliatory attacks against Israel.
The Iranian response has also involved armed groups aligned with the Tehran-led ‘Axis of Resistance,’ including Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, armed groups affiliated with the IRI, and most recently Yemen’s Ansarullah movement, widely known as the Houthis.
Meanwhile, in its capacity as the IRI, the entity claims it carried out 753 attacks against alleged US targets across the country, including in Kurdistan, over the past 34 days since the onset of the war on February 28. In its latest update on Friday morning, it claimed to have launched 23 drone and missile attacks within the span of 24 hours.
The IRI, comprising the aforementioned shadow groups, claims to have carried out 753 attacks on alleged US targets across the country over the past 34 days since the Iran war began on February 28. In its latest update on Friday morning, the IRI said it had launched 23 drone and missile attacks within a 24-hour period.