“Despite all efforts through political and diplomatic channels, and the efforts made by the supreme military technical committees … the international coalition forces committed a heinous crime and a blatant aggression,” said Yehia Rasool, military spokesperson to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, in a statement on Wednesday.
“They targeted, with fighter jets coming from beyond the borders, Iraqi sites belonging to security forces in northern Babil province,” he added.
The US military struck a base belonging to the pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq’s Babil province late Tuesday; four fighters were killed in the attack, according to media reports.
“Such serious and uncalculated violations can significantly undermine all efforts, mechanisms, and frameworks of joint security work to combat ISIS in Iraq and Syria,” the statement said. “They could also drag Iraq and the entire region into conflicts, wars, and serious repercussions.”
The strike comes as Iraq and the United States are discussing the future of the coalition’s mission in the country.
"The international coalition to combat ISIS operates in Iraq under a specific mandate and mission, agreed upon with a common enemy. These attacks represent a serious breach of this mission and mandate," Wednesday’s statement from the Iraqi premier’s office said.
Last week, a delegation of Iraqi defense and Peshmerga officials met with US defense officials in Washington to determine the future of the coalition.
"Iraq will take appropriate legal and diplomatic measures to protect its rights, reaffirm its security and sovereignty over its territories,” the Iraqi statement added.
The PMF announced early Wednesday that a drone strike had targeted one of its brigades stationed in Jurf al-Nasr (formerly Jurf al-Sakhr), without blaming any party.
For its part, Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah said in a statement that a US strike targeted a “group of drone experts” working on reconnaissance drones that were monitoring the borders of Karbala.
The attack was launched from a base in Kuwait, according to Kataib Hezbollah, who also warned Kuwaiti officials not to allow its land to be a launchpad for “American criminal actions.”
During last week’s two-day Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue in Washington, US State Secretary Lloyd Austin III met with Iraqi Minister of Defense Thabet Muhammad al-Abbasi.
While Baghdad has maintained that the commission aims to conclude the presence of the coalition forces in the country, Washington has described the step only as a “transition” in the coalition’s role.
In January, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani presided over the first meeting of the US-Iraq Higher Military Commission (HMC) to discuss the future of the coalition’s mission in Iraq.
“Our convening of this dialogue this week reflects both nations' commitment to strengthen the bilateral security relationship based on the work of the HMC over the past several months,” Major General Pat Ryder, Pentagon spokesman, said earlier this month.
In April, Ryder told Rudaw that the United States is seeking to transition from its mission against ISIS into a long-term security relationship with Iraq.
In early July, PM Sudani met with US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Policy Daniel Shapiro and US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski in Baghdad to discuss the procedures for ending the mission of the coalition and expanding bilateral relations between the two countries.
Despite the rounds of meetings, the Pentagon said in February that Washington and Baghdad have not set any timelines for US force changes in Iraq.
The Iraqi government had expressed anger over US retaliatory strikes on pro-Iran, Iraqi paramilitary groups. The US strikes were in response to hundreds of rockets and drone strikes that took place last October, targeting US installations and troops in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan.
Hardline Shiite politicians have called for Baghdad to expel US troops from Iraq, even prior to mounting tensions over the US supporting Israel in its war on Gaza.
The US security relationship with Iraq fully transitioned into an advise and assist role in December 2021, triggered by Baghdad's anger over US actions that the Iraqi government deemed a violation of its sovereignty - most notably the assassination of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and deputy chief of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad in early 2020.
