“The Iraqi government will proceed with a legal complaint before the Security Council and international organizations,” Sabhan Mula Chyad, political advisor to the prime minister, told Rudaw.
"They targeted a part of the Iraqi security forces,” he said, adding that the military action was taken without the approval of the Iraqi government.
Four people were killed in a strike on a base belonging to the pro-Iran PMF in Babil province on Tuesday. The US said it carried out a “defensive airstrike” on combatants it alleged were attempting to launch weaponized drones.
Sudani’s office condemned the airstrike that it said was launched from outside the country and said it could undermine cooperation to combat the Islamic State (ISIS).
The US has carried out a number of strikes against Iraq’s pro-Iran armed groups, saying they are in retaliation for drone and rocket attacks on American troops in the Middle East. The latest strike has renewed calls for the expulsion of foreign forces from Iraq.
"Such operations are in essence breaches of national sovereignty and criminal acts towards the mujahideen, fighters, heroes who defend the security and stability of Iraq,” Ali al-Defai, spokesperson for the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, told Rudaw on Thursday.
He said that the sovereignty of Iraq can only be ensured by “accelerating the withdrawal of foreign forces,” as well as seeking the support of the international community, the Security Council, and the United Nations, which must put a limit to “aggressions” from international coalition forces.
He also warned that the US could face retaliation for the strike on Babil.
"It is natural for there to be a reaction, such as military operations towards the American forces,” Defai said.
He said that Iraq’s security forces are “most capable” of ensuring Iraq’s security and demanded a “transition to equal bilateral relations.”
“We want to have an understanding of this sovereign national demand, otherwise, the military bases [that house coalition troops] will not be safe,” Defai added.
The strike comes as Iraq and the US are discussing the future of the coalition’s mission in the country. The talks were instigated after earlier US strikes on the PMF.
Frequent attacks were made on US forces in Iraq and Syria from October 2023 to February, following the start of Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip against Palestinian Hamas. The attacks were claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups backed by Iran.
The attacks have recently resumed, most recently last week when several rockets were reportedly fired at Ain al-Asad base, which houses US troops in Iraq’s western Anbar province.
