Iraq accuses US-Coalition against ISIS for drone strike on militias

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The Iraqi government on Thursday accused the US-led Coalition against ISIS forces of conducting a drone strike on a militia group that resulted in causalities.

As a result of the strike on a logistic center belonging to the Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, an Iranian-backed militia force within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) umbrella, at least three members of the militia were killed. 

Read More: A drone strike hit PMF logistic center in Baghdad

“The Iraqi Armed Forces hold the Global Coalition Forces responsible for this unwarranted attack on an Iraqi security entity that is operating within the powers authorized by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces,” Yehia Rasool, the spokesperson for the Iraqi commander-in-chief Mohammad Shia’ Al-Sudani said in a statement.

The attack, Rasool said, would undermine “all understandings” between the Iraqi and Coalition forces.

Neither the US nor the Coalition has claimed responsibility for the attack.

“We view this action as a dangerous escalation and assault on Iraq, diverging from the spirit and the text of the mandate and the mission for which the Global Coalition was established in Iraq,” he said.

The strike comes a day after the PMF forces commemorated the fourth anniversary of the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and his Iraqi comrade by a US strike in Baghdad.

The Iranian-backed militias have ramped up their drone strikes on the US forces in Iraq and Syria, particularly following the eruption of the Gaza war.

More than 100 such attacks have been conducted since then, according to Pentagon officials.