Air strike targeting Iran-backed militia kills six in Iraq – reports

Popular Mobilisation Forces claim attack hit convoy of medics north of Baghdad

Protesters march during a demonstration following the US air strike in Iraq which killed a top Iranian commander, in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Ali Mohammadi/Bloomberg
Protesters march during a demonstration following the US air strike in Iraq which killed a top Iranian commander, in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Ali Mohammadi/Bloomberg

An air strike targeting Iran-backed militia north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad has killed six people, according to reports.

Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces umbrella grouping of paramilitary groups said on Saturday that an air strike targeting its fighters earlier hit a convoy of medics, not senior leaders as reported in some media.

“Initial sources confirm that the strike targeted a convoy of Popular Mobilisation Forces medics near Taji stadium in Baghdad,” it said in a statement.

The strikes killed six people and critically wounded three, an Iraqi army source told Reuters.

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The attack comes amid heightened tension in the region after a US strike killed Iranian general Qassem Suleimani on Friday. – AP/Reuters