Strike blamed on US kills four Iran-backed fighters in Iraq: armed group

An Iran-backed armed group in Iraq said strikes it blamed on the United States killed four of its fighters on Tuesday.

The attacks followed the downing of a drone late Monday near the UAE consulate in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region, drawing condemnation from Arab countries.

The Kataeb Imam Ali group said its fighters were killed in an "American aggression" against one of their positions in the Debs district of Kirkuk province.

The bombing targeted a position belonging to the Hashed al-Shaabi, which is an alliance of factions now integrated into Iraq's regular army.

It also encompasses powerful Iran-backed fighters, including the Kataeb Imam Ali group.

The Iraqi government's security information cell confirmed that several Hashed fighters were killed in a bombing in Kirkuk, without attributing the attack to anyone.

"It is a blatant attack on Iraq," it said.

A health official in Kirkuk told AFP news agency the strike wounded 10 fighters.

Since the start of the Middle East war, bases belonging to Hashed al-Shaabi, or the Popular Mobilisation Forces, have been hit several times.

Iraq, long a proxy battleground between the US and Iran, had said it did not want to be dragged into the war, but it has not been spared.

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Tuesday that Iraq should not be used as a launch pad for attacks in the Middle East war.

Sudani stressed in a phone call with Rubio "the importance of ensuring that Iraqi airspace, territory, and waters are not used for any military action targeting neighbouring countries or the region," the prime minister's media office said.

Sudani rejected "any attempt to drag the country into ongoing conflicts," as well as "violations of its airspace by any party."

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said that Rubio "strongly condemned terrorist attacks by Iran and Iran-aligned terrorist militia groups in Iraq," including the Kurdistan region.

He urged Iraq to take "all possible measures to safeguard US diplomatic personnel and facilities."

Drone and rocket attacks have targeted Baghdad International Airport, which houses a military base and a US diplomatic facility, as well as oil fields and facilities.

On Monday, two drones were downed nearby, a security source told AFP.

The northern autonomous Kurdistan region, of which Erbil is the capital, hosts US troops and has been a main target of drone attacks, but these have largely been intercepted.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Tuesday that they had targeted a US base in the region.

Late on Monday, Kurdish counter-terrorism forces said US-led coalition forces had "downed three explosive-laden drones over Erbil".

One drone fell near the UAE consulate in the city, a statement added, with no casualties reported.

The Kurdistan regional government condemned the attack as "unjustified".

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan also criticised the attack.

AFP, citing A Kurdish security source, reported late Monday that the drone was likely aimed at the US consulate but did not reach its target and fell instead near the Emirati mission.