BAGHDAD: An attack killed one fighter from the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi in Iraq on Saturday, the alliance said, blaming the United States and Israel.

Iraq has been dragged into the war between the United States, Israel and Iran, with strikes targeting both US interests and pro-Iran groups in the country.

“This treacherous attack resulted in the martyrdom of one PMF fighter and the wounding of four others, as well as a member of the ministry of defence,” said a short statement from the group, which is also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces, adding it was a “Zionist-American attack”.

The PMF is a coalition of armed groups — formed in 2014 to fight jihadists — that is now part of Iraq’s regular army. But it also contains pro-Iran factions with a reputation for acting independently.

PMF positions have been repeatedly targeted since the outbreak of war, with the group consistently blaming the attacks on the United States and Israel.

According to the PMF statement, the latest attack targeted a position in western Anbar province of the 45th Brigade, which belongs to the US-blacklisted, pro-Iran Kataeb Hezbollah group.

Kataeb Hezbollah is part of the umbrella movement known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which has been claiming daily attacks since the start of the war on US interests in Iraq and the region.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2026