Apparent US-Israeli airstrikes hit a headquarters of Iraq's Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and a residence belonging to its leader on Tuesday, an escalation of US-Israeli strikes on one of Tehran's main regional allies.
PMF leader Falih al-Fayadh was not present when his residence was hit in the northern city of Mosul, which he uses only during visits to the city, according to two security sources.
At least 15 PMF fighters were killed in the airstrikes that hit a headquarters of the group in Iraq's Euphrates valley province of Anbar, according to the sources and a statement from the group.
The dead included the PMF's operations commander in the province, Saad al-Baiji. Later on Tuesday, a large crowd of angry mourners carried his coffin and portraits through the streets of Baghdad.
The statement said US forces had targeted a command headquarters in Anbar while personnel were on duty. The security sources said the strikes there hit during a meeting attended by senior commanders.
Thirty other people were wounded, security and health sources said. The health sources said some of the wounded were in critical condition and the death toll could rise. Reuters filmed ambulances bringing the wounded to hospital in the regional capital Ramadi during the night.
The PMF is an umbrella group of mostly Shiite paramilitary factions that was formally integrated into Iraq's state security forces and includes several groups aligned with Iran.
In autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, a ballistic missile attack killed six peshmergas, with the region accusing Iran of conducting the first such deadly attack since the war began.
Neither the United States nor Iran commented on the accusations.
Tehran-backed armed groups have launched attacks on US bases in Iraq and the US embassy since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran on February 28.
The conflict has spilled beyond Iran's borders, with Tehran launching strikes on Israel and Gulf Arab states hosting US military installations, while Israel has carried out attacks in Lebanon following cross-border fire by Iran-aligned Hezbollah.
