Baghdad, March 11, (dpa/GNA) – Around 27 members of Iraq’s pro-Iranian militia, the Hashd Shaabi, were killed in airstrikes that targeted a brigade in Iraq’s western Anbar province, local media reported on Thursday.
Some 63 were injured, as the attack in the Akashat area, near the Iraqi-Syrian border, caused severe destruction to the brigade’s headquarters, vehicles and ambulances.
The Iraqi government did not initially issue a statement regarding the attack or the death toll.
However, Ansar Allah al-Awfiyaa, which is affiliated with Hashd Shaabi, said its forces near the border with Syria were targeted by an Israeli-US airstrike.
The group confirmed deaths among its fighters, without giving details.
Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, is a powerful paramilitary group which played a vital role in the fight against Islamic State in Iraq between 2014 and 2017. It has since continued working with the security forces and army in the country.
Meanwhile, in Iraqi Kurdistan, Erbil province was subjected to at least 17 attacks with explosive-laden drones over the past 24 hours, Governor Omed Khoshnaw said early Thursday.
Most of the drones targeting Erbil were intercepted by the ground defences of the international coalition forces in Erbil, while some landed in open areas outside the city, he said.
Recently, both Iran and pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, have claimed responsibility for attacks on the Kurdish region. Erbil is home to a multinational base where soldiers from the United States and Germany are stationed.
GNA