Iraqi Officials Say New Air Strike Targets Iran-Backed Militia, Kills At Least Five People

An Iraqi official early on January 4 said the new strike hit a two-vehicle convoy of the Shi’ite-led Hashd Shaabi militia (Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF), which is backed by Iran.

Officials said the attack also critically wounded at least three people.

AFP quoted a police source as saying the attack left “dead and wounded,” without being more specific.

The reports could not immediately be independently confirmed. The U.S. military has not commented on the report.

The PMF said following the incident that the air strike struck a convoy of medics, not senior leaders.

“Initial sources confirm that the strike targeted a convoy of Popular Mobilization Forces medics near Taji stadium in Baghdad,” it said in a statement.

A day earlier, U.S., Iraqi, and Iranian officials confirmed that Qasem Soleimani, head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, had been killed in a U.S. air strike, most likely by a drone, at Baghdad’s international airport.

The PMF also said that Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of the militia, was killed in the attack that targeted Soleimani.

Iran vowed to take revenge for the January 3 U.S. air strike near Baghdad’s airport, while Washington said it was sending thousands more troops to the region amid the soaring tensions between the United States and Iran.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters