At least two people died and three others were injured in an attack carried out this Friday in Iraq by “unknown aircraft” against a military base of the influential pro-Iranian Shiite group Popular Multitude, with the presence of the Arab country’s Army, security sources informed EFE. Iraqis.
The attack targeted the Kalsu base, on the outskirts of the Babel governorate, about 80 kilometers south of the Iraqi capital, which hosts Popular Crowd fighters, as well as Iraqi military and police, the sources said. who asked not to be identified, and indicated that the number of victims is “according to a preliminary balance.”
The Multitude confirmed, in a statement, an “explosion” at its “headquarters in the Kalsu military base, north of Babel”, and stated that it “caused victims and material losses”, without disclosing details.
“An investigation team immediately arrived at the barracks. Once the preliminary investigation is completed, we will provide you with details,” added the note, reproduced by the official Iraqi news agency, INA.
According to security sources, it is a “joint base”, which houses barracks of the Iraqi Army and Police, and others of the Popular Crowd, where the attack took place.
The Popular Multitude militias, de facto integrated into the Iraqi Armed Forces, bring together several pro-Iranian Shiite formations that have claimed responsibility for numerous drone and projectile attacks in recent months against Israel and bases with a US presence in Iraq and Syria.
For its part, the United States attacked bases and alleged leaders of movements such as Al Nujba and Kataib Hezbollah, which are part of the Multitude, in recent months.
Both groups, considered terrorists by the US, are also part of the amalgam of pro-Iran militias Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which has launched more than 160 attacks against Washington positions on Iraqi and Syrian soil since the start of the war in Gaza. on October 7.
Iraq, whose government is an ally of Washington but does not recognize the State of Israel, criticized the US attacks on its territory on several occasions, considering that they “harm its sovereignty.”
Baghdad also began negotiations with the United States to establish a schedule for the departure of foreign troops from the Arab country to end the international coalition’s mission against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group after a decade of operations.
