Strike kills four Iran-backed fighters, anger mounts in Iraq

An Israeli emergency service officer walks past the debris of building at the scene of a missile attack near Bet Shemesh, some 30 kilometres west of Jerusalem on March 1, 2026. [AFP

Four Iran-backed fighters were killed on Sunday when their base in Iraq was struck as the region became embroiled in violence after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran.

The fighters belong to the Hashed al-Shaabi, or the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), an alliance of factions now integrated into the regular army, which also include powerful Iran-backed groups.