Airstrike in Central Baghdad Kills Iran-Backed Militia Leader as Regional Tensions Escalate

BAGHDAD (AP) -- An airstrike on the logistical support headquarters of an Iran-backed militia in central Baghdad Thursday killed a high-ranking militia commander, militia officials said.

Thursday's strike comes amid mounting regional tensions fueled by Israel-Hamas war and fears that it could spill over into surrounding countries. It also coincides with a push by Iraqi officials for US-led coalition forces to leave the country.

The Popular Mobilization Force - a coalition of militias that is nominally under the control of the Iraqi military - announced in a statement that its deputy head of operations in Baghdad, Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, or "Abu Taqwa," had been killed "as a result of brutal American aggression."

It was not immediately clear who had carried out the strike.

Iraqi military spokesman Yehia Rasool said in a statement that the Iraqi army "holds the International Coalition Forces responsible for this unprovoked attack on an Iraqi security body operating in accordance with the powers granted to it by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces."

Officials with the U.S. military and embassy in Baghdad did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The primary mission of the U.S.-led coalition is to fight the Islamic State militant group, which continues to carry out periodic attacks in Iraq despite having lost its hold on the territory it once controlled in 2017. Since then, the coalition has transitioned from a combat role to an advisory and training mission.

The PMF, a group of Iranian-backed, primarily Shiite militias, were also key in the fight against the Sunni extremist group after it overran much of Iraq in 2014. The PMF is officially under the command of the Iraqi army, but in practice the militias operate independently.

Thursday's strike killed two people and wounded five, according to two militia officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

One of the officials said al-Saidi was driving into the garage of the headquarters affiliated with the al-Nujaba militia, one of the members of the PMF, along with another militia official when the car was hit, killing both.

Heavy security was deployed around the location of the strike on Baghdad's Palestine Street, and Associated Press journalists were not allowed to approach the targeted area. Iraqi war planes could be seen flying overhead.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, a group of Iranian-backed militias calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has carried out more than 100 attacks on bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria.

The group has said the attacks are in retaliation for Washington's support of Israel in the war against Hamas that has killed more than 20,000 people in Gaza, and that they aim to push U.S. forces out of Iraq.

Thursday's strike is likely to increase calls for a U.S. departure.

Last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani - who came to power with the backing of Iran-linked political factions but has also attempted to maintain good relations with the U.S. - said that his government is "is proceeding to end the presence of the international coalition forces."

The strike also comes two days after a suspected Israeli drone strike in the suburbs of Beirut killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh Arouri.

Asked whether Israel had involvement in Thursday's strike in Baghdad, an Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment.