The Iraqi capital, Baghdad, woke up on Friday night to Saturday to the sound of two massive explosions that shook the city, triggering a widespread security alert. Field sources reported that the sounds resulted from a direct targeting in the heart of the capital, with columns of smoke rising from the targeted sites amidst conflicting initial reports about the nature of the attack.
Circulating information indicates that the explosions targeted an assassination operation against a prominent figure in the Popular Mobilization Forces within the vital Arasat area in central Baghdad. Security sources confirmed casualties from this powerful explosion, while security forces imposed a tight cordon around the scene, preventing access pending the results of initial investigations.
For its part, international news agencies quoted sources in the Iraqi police as saying that an airstrike targeted a house used as a headquarters for a meeting of Popular Mobilization Forces leaders. The sources clarified that the attack was precise and resulted in the death and injury of a number of people who were present inside the headquarters at the moment of the airstrike, which supports the hypothesis of a systematic assassination.
Coinciding with the events in Baghdad, security sources revealed another airstrike targeting a military site in the Nineveh Plain region in the north of the country. The direct link between the two attacks is not yet clear, but the temporal coincidence suggests a large-scale military operation targeting Popular Mobilization Forces factions in more than one geographical location within Iraq.
This security escalation comes at a sensitive time for Iraq, as the Iraqi government has previously condemned similar attacks targeting Popular Mobilization Forces headquarters, which resulted in dozens of deaths. Political and popular circles are awaiting an official statement from government agencies to identify the perpetrators of the recent airstrikes and confirm the names of the targeted individuals.
An airstrike targeted a house used as a headquarters for Popular Mobilization Forces leaders in Baghdad, with reports of deaths and injuries.
שתף את דעתך
Explosions rock Baghdad, reports of Popular Mobilization Forces leader assassinated in airstrike