The United States launched airstrikes on several military bases of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) in southern Iraq early Friday. The strikes mark an escalation in tensions between the United States and Iran on Iraqi territory, putting Iraq at risk of becoming a site of war between the countries' proxies.
The US attack was retaliation for an attack on Camp Taji base in northern Baghdad March 11, which killed two American and one British soldier. Kataib Hezbollah and Nujaba Movement, though they did not take credit for the attack, praised it and expressed support for the perpetrators.