Drone targets base for Iran-backed militia in northern Iraq

This image released on June 21, 2019 by the U.S. military’s Central Command shows what it describes as the flight path and the site where Iran shot down a U.S. Navy RQ-4A Global Hawk in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, June 20, 2019. Iran says it shot down the drone over Iranian territorial waters. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot down the drone amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over its collapsing nuclear deal with world powers. (U.S. Central Command via AP)

BAGHDAD — An unmanned drone dropped explosives on a base belonging to Iran-backed paramilitary forces in northern Iraq early Friday, wounding two people, Iraqi security officials and a military statement said, amid regional tensions between the United States and Iran.

The statement said the drone dropped two grenades half an hour apart on the base in Amirli, in Iraq’s northern Salaheddin province. No further details were provided.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which struck shortly after midnight. The Iranian-backed mostly Shiite Muslim militias, in a statement, blamed the Islamic State group, saying it confronted the attack without providing details.

A senior official with the militias known collectively as the Popular Mobilization Forces told The Associated Press that the attack resulted in the wounding of two Iranians and that the base hit housed advisers from Iran and Lebanon. He said the first attack targeted the headquarters of the advisers, resulting in the wounding of the two Iranians.

The second attack hit a weapons depot, causing a large fire at the base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose sensitive information.

An Iraqi official said IS militants were most likely behind the attack, ruling out a U.S.-led coalition or American attack. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

A Pentagon spokesman denied U.S. involvement.

“We are aware of open source reports of possible aggressive actions against a Popular Mobilization Force unit in Salah ad Din. U.S. forces were not involved. We have no further information about this report,” Navy Cmdr. Sean Robertson said.

Tensions between Iran and the U.S. have left Iraq’s government, which is allied with both sides, in a delicate position.

Iraq is home to U.S. bases and more than 5,000 U.S. troops, as well as dozens of Iran-supported militias who fought against IS militants alongside Iraqi government troops.

Baghdad declared victory over IS in December 2017, after the last urban battle had been won following years-long battles that left its cities in ruins. But the group, which has used drones in its attacks in the past, is still waging a low-level insurgency particularly in rural areas. /jpv