PMF logo. Graphic: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An airstrike targeted a Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) base in western Kirkuk on Monday evening, marking the fifth time the facility has been hit since the start of the Iran war more than a month ago.
The strike targeted PMF’s 40th Brigade of the Imam Ali Brigade in the village of Kharaba Rut, a security source told Rudaw. The base is located near the strategic Bay Hasan oil field.
The brigade is part of the PMF’s northeastern Tigris operations. The group has maintained a significant presence in the territory west of Kirkuk since October 2017, when federal forces and the PMF advanced into the disputed territories and forced Kurdish Peshmerga forces to withdraw.
Since the onset of the US-Israeli air campaign against Iranian interests on February 28, retaliations by PMF’s pro-Iran factions have increased drastically in Kurdistan Region and Iraqi northern provinces.
The PMF has blamed Washington and Tel Aviv for attacks on its bases but only the Pentagon has confirmed targeting pro-Iran groups inside Iraq.
"Iraqi terrorist militias affiliated with Iran conducted two more egregious attacks against US diplomatic facilities in Iraq overnight in an attempt to kill American diplomats,” said a spokesperson for the US embassy in Baghdad on Sunday, reported AFP.
