Three Iran-backed Fighters Killed in Baghdad Drone Strike

This aerial photograph taken on January 1, 2024 shows a view of Baghdad's Tahrir Square, where the city's main boulevards on the eastern bank of the Tigris river converge at a roundabout. (Photo by Murtaja LATEEF / AFP)
This aerial photograph taken on January 1, 2024 shows a view of Baghdad's Tahrir Square, where the city's main boulevards on the eastern bank of the Tigris river converge at a roundabout. (Photo by Murtaja LATEEF / AFP)
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Three Iran-backed Fighters Killed in Baghdad Drone Strike

This aerial photograph taken on January 1, 2024 shows a view of Baghdad's Tahrir Square, where the city's main boulevards on the eastern bank of the Tigris river converge at a roundabout. (Photo by Murtaja LATEEF / AFP)
This aerial photograph taken on January 1, 2024 shows a view of Baghdad's Tahrir Square, where the city's main boulevards on the eastern bank of the Tigris river converge at a roundabout. (Photo by Murtaja LATEEF / AFP)

At least three fighters were killed and six others wounded in a drone strike on an Iran-backed militia headquarters in eastern Baghdad on Thursday, police and security sources told Reuters.

Police sources and eyewitnesses said at least two rockets struck a building used by al-Nujaba'a.

A group spokesman said three of the group's fighters were killed, including a local commander in al-Nujaba'a. The spokesman accused the United States of carrying out the attack.

Iraqi police and security sources said they had no further detail on who might have carried out the strike pending a government investigation.

Last month, the United States carried out retaliatory air strikes in Iraq after a drone attack by Iran-aligned militants that left one US service member in critical condition and wounded two others.

The US military has already come under attack at least 100 times in Iraq and Syria since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, usually with a mix of rockets and one-way attack drones.



Series of Israeli Airstrikes Rock Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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Series of Israeli Airstrikes Rock Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A fresh wave of air raids hit Beirut's southern suburbs in the early hours of Saturday as Israel stepped up attacks on Hezbollah, after a massive strike on the group’s command center that apparently targeted its leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Media reports said there were more than 40 separate airstrikes before dawn on Saturday. Fires raged from several locations, and smoke and flames were seen from above Beirut.

The Israeli military has made several evacuation orders.

Heavy strikes shook southern Beirut on Friday too. There was no immediate confirmation of Nasrallah's fate. The Lebanese armed group did not make a statement.

Instead, it announced that it had launched a salvo of rockets at the Israeli city of Safed, which it said was “in defense of Lebanon and its people, and in response to the barbaric Israeli violation of cities, villages and civilians.” The Israeli military said a house and a car in Safed were hit, and officials said a 68-year-old woman suffered mild shrapnel wounds.

The site hit Friday evening had not been publicly known as Hezbollah’s main headquarters, though it is located in the group’s “security quarters,” a heavily guarded part of Haret Hreik where it has offices and runs several nearby hospitals.