US air raid hits four Iraqi positions: Iraqi military statement

The United States launched airstrikes against multiple locations of Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi forces, among the locations hit by was a position in Najaf and three other places south of the capital Baghdad, the statement carried by state television said.

Iran PressMiddle East: According to the Iraqi Interior Ministry statement, "at 01:15 local time on Thursday, an American aerial bombardment struck headquarters of Hashd Al-Shaabi, emergency regiments as well as commandos from the 19th Division of the army."

It is reported that 2 Babil Police forces martyred in the attacked and 7 others including 3 from PMU, 2 from Army and 2 others from interior ministry injured in the US air raids.

The statement added that the airstrikes targeted positions in Jurf al-Nasr town, located about 60 kilometers southwest of the capital Baghdad, Musayyib town in the central province of Babil, the holy city of Najaf as well as the ancient central city of Alexandria.

Among those singled out in the attack was an Iraqi airport under construction in the holy city of Karbala, an Iraqi airport official confirmed. Some sources say a construction worker has been killed in the attack.

In a statement, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that the US will not tolerate attacks against "our people, our interests, our allies."

The US military claimed that it targeted “five weapon storage facilities” allegedly operated by Iraq’s Kata'ib Hezbollah part of the country's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

One US official told AP news agency earlier that the raids were a joint operation with the British.

Earlier on Thursday, US President Donald Trump gave the Pentagon the authority to respond after a rocket barrage killed two US troops and a British soldier, again raising tensions with Iran.

Meanwhile, CNN, quoting a US military official, reported that the airstrikes were carried out against five weapons storage facilities.

The early Friday US airstrikes were carried out about 24 hours after at least 18 PMU forces were killed in air raids targeting an area southeast of the city of al-Bukamal in eastern Syria and near the border with Iraq.

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