Strikes kill two PMF fighters in northern Iraq amid wider war, group says

Al JazeeraCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete by Al Jazeera StaffMarch 19, 2026 at 10:33 AM

AI Summary

medium article 2 min

Air strikes in northern Iraq killed two fighters from the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) on Thursday. The PMF, a predominantly Shia paramilitary group integrated into Iraq's security forces, attributed the attacks in the Nineveh region and Salah al-Din province to Israel and the United States. These strikes occurred amidst escalating regional tensions and followed near-daily attacks on US interests in Iraq by Iran-backed groups. Hours before the strikes, Kataib Hezbollah, a pro-Iran armed group, announced a five-day suspension of attacks on the US embassy in Baghdad. Separately, a fire broke out at a naval base in southern Iraq after a drone strike.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Umm Qasr 30% Kuwait 30% Mosul 40% Salah al-Din province 40% Baghdad ×240% Nineveh 50% Israel ×260% Iran ×470% United States ×470% Kataib Hezbollah ×270% Iraq ×680% Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) ×590%

Keywords

air strikes 90% iraq 80% pmf fighters 80% iran-backed groups 70% kataib hezbollah 60% us embassy attacks 60% us interests 50% middle east 50% drone attack 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.40

Source Transparency

Source

Al Jazeera

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Iraq

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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air strikes iraq pmf fighters iran-backed groups kataib hezbollah us embassy attacks us interests middle east drone attack

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