At least four members, including a senior commander of a pro-Iran faction were killed and seven others were wounded in a U.S. drone strike in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Thursday.
"A drone targeted the logistical support headquarters of Hashed al-Shaabi," mainly pro-Iranian former paramilitary units integrated into the Iraqi armed forces, a security official said.
Harakat al-Nujaba, one of the Hashed's factions, said in a statement that "the deputy commander of operations for Baghdad, Mushtaq Talib al-Saidi" had been "martyred in a U.S. strike."
A U.S. official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, later confirmed that the strike hit a vehicle in Baghdad. It targeted a leader of Harakat al-Nujaba, the official said, without naming the person.
The strike was swiftly condemned by the Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's office, labeling it "a blatant aggression" as well as "a dangerous escalation and assault."
"The Iraqi armed forces hold the global coalition forces responsible for this unwarranted attack," a spokesperson for al-Sudani said in a statement.
Hadi al-Ameri, a senior commander of the Hashed al-Shaabi, condemned what he described as a "heinous crime committed by the criminal American forces," demanding the "immediate departure" of the international coalition.
The attack comes amid heightened regional tensions amid U.S. ally Israel's brutal war on the Gaza Strip, triggered by the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas incursion.
Videos shared on a Telegram channel linked to the Hashed al-Shaabi showed columns of smoke rising above the area of the strike on Baghdad's Palestine street, normally a bustling commercial road.
Last month, the United States also carried out retaliatory airstrikes in Iraq after a drone attack by Iran-aligned militants that left one U.S. service member in critical condition and wounded two others.
The U.S. military has come under attack at least 100 times in Iraq and Syria since Israel's war on Gaza began in October, usually with a mix of rockets and one-way attack drones.
