Iraq's pro-Iranian Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi) officially announced Wednesday that at least 20 of its operatives were killed and 32 wounded during overnight airstrikes attributed to the United States and Saudi Arabia. The figure is the first detailed casualty count provided by the militia since the joint operation began.
Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) issued an official statement Wednesday morning providing the first detailed casualty toll from the overnight US-Saudi airstrikes: at least 20 of its operatives were killed and 32 wounded. The announcement comes roughly four hours after the militia first confirmed that its bases across Iraq were struck, initially reporting only unspecified casualties.
The thread of reporting began at 05:51 Jerusalem, when The Zioneer relayed a single unverified report of a strike on a command post in Basra. Within minutes, Hashd al-Shaabi confirmed its Basra operations headquarters was hit by an airstrike at 02:00, and reports emerged of additional strikes in Wasit and the Nineveh plains. By 05:51, the militia issued a broader confirmation that multiple bases were struck across Iraq, calling the attacks a 'very dangerous escalation' and a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, while still assessing the extent of casualties. The evolution moved from a single unverified claim to official confirmation of a multi-site strike, and now to a specific casualty count.
As The Zioneer reported earlier today, the US and Saudi militaries conducted joint airstrikes against seven Hashd al-Shaabi positions in eastern Iraq, targeting logistics and weapons storage sites. The operation was a direct response to over 30 drone attacks directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) against American forces and Saudi energy infrastructure over the preceding 72 hours. Earlier coverage by The Zioneer noted at least 10 operatives were killed in those strikes, though that figure was not attributed to the militia.
The casualty figures have not been independently verified. Hashd al-Shaabi has not provided a breakdown of killed versus wounded, nor has it specified whether the casualties include civilians. The militia's count may be revised as its own assessment continues.
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Source and signal
- Open-source intake