A US strike in Baghdad on Thursday killed a military commander of the Hashed Al-Shaabi, an ex-paramilitary faction of the grouping said, with an Iraqi security official reporting two deaths in a drone attack.
The Iraqi government, supported by pro-Tehran factions, decried an “aggression.” It accused a US-led international coalition but stopped short of pinning the blame on Washington. “A drone targeted the logistical support headquarters of Hashed Al-Shaabi,” mainly pro-Iranian former paramilitary units integrated into the Iraqi armed forces, said the security official. The strike killed “two members and wounded seven others,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A Hashed source, also asking not to be named, confirmed the death toll and charged that the United States was behind the attack. Harakat Al-Nujaba, one of the Hashed’s factions, said in a statement that “the deputy commander of operations for Baghdad, Mushtaq Talib Al-Saidi,” had been “martyred in a US strike.” Videos shared on a Telegram channel linked to the Hashed showed columns of smoke rising above the area of the strike on Baghdad’s Palestine street, normally a bustling commercial road.—AFP
