The US military carried out strikes on three sites used by Iran-backed forces in Iraq on Monday after an attack wounded three American personnel the previous day, drawing a protest from the Iraqi government.
The strikes hit bases of the Popular Mobilisation Forces, a state-linked paramilitary organisation, in the cities of Hilla, Juraf Al Sakhar and Suwaira in central Iraq, according to posts on Telegram channels linked to Iran-backed Shiite militias.
The Iraqi government condemned the “targeting of Iraqi military sites by the US” as an “unacceptable infringement to the Iraqi sovereignty”, said Maj Gen Yahya Rasool, a military representative for Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani.
He said one paramilitary member was killed and 18 others wounded, including civilians.
“It is a clear and unconstructive hostile act that doesn't help the long-term joint interests in establishing security and stability, and contradicts the declared desire by the US to enhance relations with Iraq,” Brig Gen Rasool said.
He warned that “this step negatively affects bilateral relations between the two countries and complicates avenues for reaching understandings through mutual dialogue to end the presence of the [US-led] International Coalition” against ISIS.
A video on social media showed the site in Hilla littered with debris and a car in flames as firefighters battled to put out fire. A dormitory of the city's university nearby was damaged.
Another video showed several wounded men on stretchers receiving treatment.
Washington has repeatedly targeted sites used by Iran and its proxy forces in Iraq and Syria in response to dozens of attacks on American and allied forces in the region since the October 7 outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.
“US military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by Kataeb Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq,” Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
“These precision strikes are a response to a series of attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias, including an attack by Iran-affiliated Kataeb Hezbollah and affiliated groups on Erbil Air Base earlier today,” he said.
Three US military personnel were wounded, one critically, in the drone attack, US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said.
It came hours after Iran announced that a commander in its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Brig Gen Razi Mousavi, had been killed in a suspected Israeli strike in Syria.
President Joe Biden was briefed on the attack, which was carried out with a one-way attack drone, and directed the strikes in a call with Mr Austin and other national security officials after ordering the Defence Department to prepare a response, Ms Watson said.
Mr Biden “places no higher priority than the protection of American personnel serving in harm's way”.
“The United States will act at a time and in a manner of our choosing should these attacks continue,” she added.
The drone attack was claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose formation of armed groups affiliated with the Popular Mobilisation Forces, a coalition of former paramilitaries that are now integrated into Iraq's regular armed forces.
Meanwhile, a US defence official confirmed on Tuesday that several rockets had been launched against US and coalition forces at Patrol Base Shaddadi in Syria.
The official told The National that there were “no casualties and no damage to infrastructure”.
That brings total attacks against US forces to at least 105 since October 17, the official added, including 49 in Iraq and 56 in Syria.
Most of these have been claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which opposes US support for Israel in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The latest round of the Israel-Hamas conflict began when the Palestinian militant group carried out a shock cross-border attack from Gaza on October 7 that killed about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Following the attack, the US rushed military aid to Israel, which has carried out a relentless campaign in Gaza that has killed more than 20,600 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
The death toll has sparked widespread anger in the Middle East and provided an impetus for attacks on American troops by forces opposed to their presence in the region.
There are roughly 2,500 American troops in Iraq and some 900 in Syria as part of efforts to prevent a resurgence of ISIS.
The extremist militant group once held significant territory in both countries but was pushed back by local ground forces supported by international air strikes in a bloody, multiyear conflict.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERobert%20Lorenz%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Liam%20Neeson%2C%20Kerry%20Condon%2C%20Jack%20Gleeson%2C%20Ciaran%20Hinds%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Global institutions: BlackRock and KKR
US-based BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with $5.98 trillion of assets under management as of the end of last year. The New York firm run by Larry Fink provides investment management services to institutional clients and retail investors including governments, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, banks and charitable foundations around the world, through a variety of investment vehicles.
KKR & Co, or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a global private equity and investment firm with around $195 billion of assets as of the end of last year. The New York-based firm, founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, invests in multiple alternative asset classes through direct or fund-to-fund investments with a particular focus on infrastructure, technology, healthcare, real estate and energy.
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Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
Anti-semitic attacks
The annual report by the Community Security Trust, which advises the Jewish community on security , warned on Thursday that anti-Semitic incidents in Britain had reached a record high.
It found there had been 2,255 anti-Semitic incidents reported in 2021, a rise of 34 per cent from the previous year.
The report detailed the convictions of a number of people for anti-Semitic crimes, including one man who was jailed for setting up a neo-Nazi group which had encouraged “the eradication of Jewish people” and another who had posted anti-Semitic homemade videos on social media.
If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
