An airstrike targeting a headquarters of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in central Kirkuk killed one person and injured seven others, according to two sources from the PMF and the Kirkuk Health Department.
The strike occurred early Thursday morning, March 12, hitting a PMF base located in the Badr neighborhood. Most members of the unit stationed there are Shia Turkmen affiliated with the Badr Organization, led by Hadi al-Amiri.
A PMF security source in Kirkuk told KirkukNow that one of the group’s fighters was killed in the attack and that more than five others sustained injuries.
A representative from the Kirkuk Health Department also confirmed that one person had died and seven individuals were injured, noting that the wounded were transferred to hospitals in Kirkuk for medical treatment. After the incident, the Health Department called on residents to donate blood to support the injured.
Health Director Arjan Mohammed said in a statement that the conditions of the wounded were being closely monitored.
During a hospital visit to the injured, Mohammed Mahdi al-Bayati, head of the Badr Organization’s northern branch, blamed the United States and Israel for carrying out the strike.
Al-Bayati commended the injured PMF members for what he described as their role in defending the country, saying “they had made significant sacrifices.”
The strike happened 48 hours after another air attack targeted the PMF’s 40th Brigade in the Dibis district of Kirkuk province, which left six people dead and 20 others injured.
Since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war with Iran on February 28, PMF positions in several parts of Iraq have been targeted by multiple airstrikes. Earlier the same day, another PMF headquarters in the town of al-Qaim in Anbar province was also struck, resulting in additional casualties.
Following these attacks, PMF forces withdrew from several areas in the Nineveh Plain, reduced the number of fighters stationed in some locations, and lowered their flags at headquarters in other provinces.
