Iraq's National Security Council has authorised the Popular Mobilisation Forces to exercise the right of self-defence and respond to any attacks on their positions as strikes on security forces continued on Wednesday.
The green light from the council, chaired by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani, came after a deadly attack on PMF headquarters in Anbar that killed at least 15 fighters, including a commander. The PMF accused the US of being behind the attack.
The council, which met in an emergency session on Tuesday, condemned the “unjustified attacks” on forces including the PMF and the Peshmerga, and pledged to take action against those responsible. Six members of the Kurdish Peshmerga were killed in an Iranian ballistic missile strike, it said.
An air strike hit a military clinic and centre in Al Habbaniya, west of Baghdad, killing seven soldiers and wounding 13 others, the Defence Ministry said on Wednesday. The attack, described as a “heinous crime”, hit a medical centre and personnel, breaching international laws and norms. Rescue teams are searching the site.
“This cowardly attack won't deter our staff; it'll strengthen their resolve,” the ministry said, reserving the right to respond legally. The strike is the latest in a series of aggressions, causing outrage and calls for accountability.
Mr Al Sudani on Wednesday said he had instructed the foreign ministry to summon the US Charge d'Affaires over the strike targeting "military units." The same order was also made on Tuesday for both the US Charge d'Affaires and the Iranian ambassador.
On Tuesday, the council had told the PMF, made up of mostly Iran-backed armed groups, and other security forces to respond “with all available means based on the principle of self-defence."
It also pledged to prosecute those involved in attacks on security institutions and diplomatic missions, and hold leaders accountable for any delays.
The government repeated its stance against aggression and threats to national sovereignty, emphasising its commitment to balanced relations with regional and international partners.
PMF operations commander Saad Al Baiji was among those killed in the early-morning strike in Anbar. It was the deadliest attack in Iraq since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28.
Pro-Iran groups in Iraq began launching drone and rocket attacks on American interests in the country soon after the war began, including on military bases and diplomatic missions, hotels, oilfields, refineries and residential areas.
Neither the US nor Israel have claimed responsibility for the attacks on bases used by the groups across Iraq, which have killed dozens of their members.
