Five IRGC Members Killed in US-Saudi Strikes in Iraq Returned to Iran
IRNA reported that the bodies entered the country through the Mehran border crossing in Iran's western Ilam province.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The bodies of five members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) killed in joint US-Saudi airstrikes in Iraq this week have been returned to Iran, according to Iranian state media on Friday.
IRNA reported that the bodies entered the country through the Mehran border crossing in Iran's western Ilam province.
The five IRGC members were among at least 20 militants killed in the strikes carried out on Wednesday. The United States and Saudi Arabia said the operation targeted Iran-backed militants in Iraq in response to recent drone attacks against the Gulf kingdom.
The strikes hit positions belonging to the Hashed al-Shaabi, an Iraqi armed coalition that includes several powerful pro-Iran factions. Iran's IRGC Quds Force, which oversees the country's overseas military operations, is believed to have been linked to the personnel killed.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi government said it neither approved nor had prior knowledge of the strikes, rejecting US claims that the operation had been coordinated with Baghdad.
Government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi said on Thursday that Iraq "did not have any knowledge" of the attacks and "did not approve any attacks on specific sites or groups in Iraq."
Al-Aboudi also announced that Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi had suspended a planned visit to Saudi Arabia following the strikes, which came after Riyadh accused Iran-backed groups in Iraq of launching drones targeting Saudi oil facilities.
The operation comes amid increasing US pressure on Baghdad to disarm Iran-backed armed groups that have carried out attacks on US facilities in Iraq and elsewhere in the region during the broader Middle East conflict.