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Two people were killed on Saturday in air strikes on an Iraqi military base housing the powerful pro-Iran group Kataeb Hezbollah, which has threatened the US with a response.
The United States and Israel launched a campaign against Iran early on Saturday, which retaliated with a barrage of missiles targeting Gulf states and Israel.
Iraq warned against being drawn into the war and closed its airspace. But warplanes and missiles were seen flying over several areas.
The Iraqi government’s security media cell announced that “at 7:25 pm (1625 GMT), the Jurf al-Nasr area… was targeted by two air strikes.”
That followed a strike earlier in the day that killed two Kataeb Hezbollah members.
The Jurf al-Sakher base, also known as Jurf al-Nasr, in southern Iraq belongs to the Hashed al-Shaabi or the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a former paramilitary group now integrated into the regular army.
But the largest contingent on the base is made up of members of Kataeb Hezbollah.
Kataeb Hezbollah warned in a statement following the first strike that “we will soon begin attacking American bases in response to their aggression”.
Soon after, Kurdish security forces said US-led coalition forces downed several missiles and explosive-laden drones over the city of Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region.
AFP journalists said that explosions were heard in Erbil throughout the day.
An AFP journalist reported in the evening seeing a drone exploding over the city.
Warning
Sabah al-Numan, the military spokesman for the Iraqi prime minister, said that Baghdad “condemned the unjustified aggression against the Islamic republic”, and “warned of the consequences of the blatant aggression” against Iraqi sites.
Numan warned against using Iraq’s airspace and territory “as a corridor or launching point for aggression against Iran”.
Iraq “equally rejects the use of its land or territorial waters as a means of dragging the country into the conflict”, he added.
The Iraqi News Agency (INA) quoted a “senior source” as saying that the US told Baghdad that it wants to keep Iraq out of the ongoing war.
‘Immense losses’
The US-blacklisted Kataeb Hezbollah has several brigades that operate within the Hashed al-Shaabi.
It is also part of the Iran-backed, so-called “axis of resistance” and has a reputation for acting on its own.
The group warned the US on Thursday of “immense losses” should it start a war in the region, and urged its fighters “to prepare for a potentially long war of attrition”.
Pro-Iran armed groups did not intervene during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last June.
For months during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Iran-backed groups carried out attacks against US troops in the region and mostly failed attempts against Israel.
Under mounting US and domestic pressure, these attacks came to a halt, while pressure on the groups to disarm has grown.
The recent flare-up has also impacted the Kurdistan region’s gas supply.
Kurdistan’s electricity and natural resources ministries said that “to protect employees at the Khor Mor field, Dana Gas has suspended natural gas exports to power plants” in the region.
The Khor Mor complex, which supplies most of Kurdistan’s power stations and is run by the Emirati firm Dana Gas, has been hit several times in recent years in attacks blamed on pro-Iran Iraqi groups.
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Two people were killed on Saturday in air strikes on an Iraqi military base housing the powerful pro-Iran group Kataeb Hezbollah, which has threatened the US with a response.
The United States and Israel launched a campaign against Iran early on Saturday, which retaliated with a barrage of missiles targeting Gulf states and Israel.
Iraq warned against being drawn into the war and closed its airspace. But warplanes and missiles were seen flying over several areas.
The Iraqi government’s security media cell announced that “at 7:25 pm (1625 GMT), the Jurf al-Nasr area… was targeted by two air strikes.”
That followed a strike earlier in the day that killed two Kataeb Hezbollah members.
The Jurf al-Sakher base, also known as Jurf al-Nasr, in southern Iraq belongs to the Hashed al-Shaabi or the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a former paramilitary group now integrated into the regular army.
But the largest contingent on the base is made up of members of Kataeb Hezbollah.
Kataeb Hezbollah warned in a statement following the first strike that “we will soon begin attacking American bases in response to their aggression”.
Soon after, Kurdish security forces said US-led coalition forces downed several missiles and explosive-laden drones over the city of Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region.
AFP journalists said that explosions were heard in Erbil throughout the day.
An AFP journalist reported in the evening seeing a drone exploding over the city.
Warning
Sabah al-Numan, the military spokesman for the Iraqi prime minister, said that Baghdad “condemned the unjustified aggression against the Islamic republic”, and “warned of the consequences of the blatant aggression” against Iraqi sites.
Numan warned against using Iraq’s airspace and territory “as a corridor or launching point for aggression against Iran”.
Iraq “equally rejects the use of its land or territorial waters as a means of dragging the country into the conflict”, he added.
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The Iraqi News Agency (INA) quoted a “senior source” as saying that the US told Baghdad that it wants to keep Iraq out of the ongoing war.
‘Immense losses’
The US-blacklisted Kataeb Hezbollah has several brigades that operate within the Hashed al-Shaabi.
It is also part of the Iran-backed, so-called “axis of resistance” and has a reputation for acting on its own.
The group warned the US on Thursday of “immense losses” should it start a war in the region, and urged its fighters “to prepare for a potentially long war of attrition”.
Pro-Iran armed groups did not intervene during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last June.
For months during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Iran-backed groups carried out attacks against US troops in the region and mostly failed attempts against Israel.
Under mounting US and domestic pressure, these attacks came to a halt, while pressure on the groups to disarm has grown.
The recent flare-up has also impacted the Kurdistan region’s gas supply.
Kurdistan’s electricity and natural resources ministries said that “to protect employees at the Khor Mor field, Dana Gas has suspended natural gas exports to power plants” in the region.
The Khor Mor complex, which supplies most of Kurdistan’s power stations and is run by the Emirati firm Dana Gas, has been hit several times in recent years in attacks blamed on pro-Iran Iraqi groups.
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By AFP