Symbolic imageUS and Saudi jets strike Iraqi PMF bases, at least 20 killed
US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck bases of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces across several provinces on Wednesday, killing at least 20 fighters according to the PMF. Washington and Riyadh said the strikes answered drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities launched from Iraqi territory; the Iraqi groups deny involvement. Baghdad called the raids a violation of its sovereignty, cancelled a planned visit to Saudi Arabia and convened its National Security Council.
What happened
US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck bases of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) on Wednesday, in seven provinces from Kirkuk in the north to Basra in the south, according to Al Jazeera. The PMF gave a preliminary toll of at least 20 members killed and 32 wounded, TASS reported. Al Jazeera cited Iraqi and Iranian media saying at least four advisers from Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) were also killed. CENTCOM and the Saudi Defence Ministry said the strikes responded to more than 30 drone attacks within 72 hours on US troops and on Saudi oil facilities in the Eastern Province and the Riyadh region, launched from Iraqi territory. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq denied any role, called the Saudi claims fabrications and pointed to Yemen's Houthis, who had claimed responsibility for attacking Saudi oil installations. Iraq's National Security Council called the raids a flagrant violation of Iraq's sovereignty, and the prime minister cancelled his first official visit to Saudi Arabia, planned for Thursday.
The view from outside
Al Jazeera (Qatar) foregrounds Baghdad's demand for evidence that the drones were launched from Iraq, which no party has provided. Daily Sabah (Turkey) frames the operation as drawing Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia into combat against Iran's Shia allies on a new front, and notes oil prices rising for the first time since last week. TASS (Russia) restricts itself to the casualty toll reported by Iraq's Hashd al-Shaabi and the Saudi account of coordination with CENTCOM.
What could happen next
In Baghdad, PMF supporters have demanded the expulsion of the Saudi ambassador, and politicians are calling for a review of security agreements with Washington, according to Tehran Times. Brent crude traded around $88 after the flare-up, with Iran claiming to have halted three tankers in the strait of Hormuz.
United States and Saudi Arabia: CENTCOM and the Saudi Defence Ministry describe the raids as precision strikes on Iran-directed groups behind drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities and US troops, with Riyadh saying it does not seek escalation but will act if attacked.
Iraq: The National Security Council calls the strikes a flagrant violation of sovereignty and of the UN Charter, demands evidence that attacks were launched from Iraqi soil and says its own investigation was cut short.
Iran: The Foreign Ministry calls the strikes criminal and a blatant aggression against Iraq's territorial integrity, and says they serve US and Israeli aims of widening the war.
Also involved