The United States and Saudi Arabia have carried out coordinated aerial aggression against several bases and weapons depots belonging to Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMU), also known as Hashd al-Sha’abi, claiming the attacks were launched in response to recent drone strikes against Saudi oil facilities.
In separate statements issued early Wednesday, the Saudi defense ministry and the US Central Command announced the joint aggression, saying it targeted bases and weapons storage facilities belonging to the PMU, which serves as a coalition of anti-terror Resistance groups.
Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson for the ministry, said the kingdom, in coordination with CENTCOM, had struck specific targets that he claimed had been involved in recent attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure.
CENTCOM also said US and Saudi warplanes had targeted several logistical bases and weapons storage facilities in eastern Iraq. According to the statement, the aggression was launched in response to, what CENTCOM called, more than 30 drone attacks allegedly launched over the past 72 hours from Iraqi territory against Saudi oil facilities in the kingdom's Eastern Province and the capital Riyadh.
Reports from Iraqi sources, Arab media outlets, and social media users, meanwhile, indicated that multiple locations across Iraq had come under aerial attacks. However, the details of the strikes, as well as the extent of the damage and casualties, have yet to be officially confirmed.
According to those reports, the largest strikes took place in Basra Province, where Hashd al-Sha’abi’s operational headquarters in the al-Dair area and the group's weapons depots were reportedly targeted.
Arab news networks, including al-Hadath, reported multiple airstrikes and injuries to several individuals. Surveillance camera footage circulating online showed explosions in the area. The PMU’s Operations Command in Basra said three airstrikes had struck the vicinity of one of its headquarters and that two missiles landed nearby.
Other reports said bases and weapons depots in the al-Suwaira area of Wasit Province, including the al-Fath al-Mubin base, had also come under attack, Press TV reported.
Various sources further reported strikes on positions affiliated with Hashd al-Sha’abi in Babil Province, including locations in Jurf al-Nasr.
Some unverified reports and social media posts also said that positions in the Nineveh Plains, Kirkuk, Karbala, and other parts of eastern Iraq had been targeted.
MNA