ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A fighter from Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) was killed and several others wounded in an attack targeting their position in Salahaddin province early Thursday, the group said, as attacks continue on pro-Iran groups in Iraq amid escalating regional tensions.
The PMF said in a statement that “one of the outposts of the 31st Brigade of the Popular Mobilization Forces near al-Siniya airport [K2 Air Base] in Salahaddin Governorate was subjected to a treacherous Zionist-American aggression,” adding that the attack resulted in the killing of "one individual and the injury of several others."
According to the statement, rescue efforts were hampered by "the continuous presence of enemy aircraft, which deliberately targeted rescue teams on more than one occasion,” the PMF said.
The 31st Brigade is affiliated with the al-Risaliyun Movement, a faction within the PMF.
The strike marked the second attack on PMF positions in Baiji within hours. Earlier in the day, the Jund al-Imam brigades - another PMF faction - were targeted in a separate attack that wounded three militants.
The incidents come amid rising regional tensions after the US and Israel launched a large-scale military campaign against Iran in late February, with Iraq increasingly caught in the crossfire. Iran-aligned armed groups have stepped up drone and missile attacks on US diplomatic missions and military bases, prompting retaliatory strikes on PMF-linked positions.