Deadly Baghdad drone strike appears to target Iran-linked militia leader

At least one person has been killed in a drone attack on a vehicle in Baghdad, security sources said after several loud blasts were heard in quick succession across parts of the Iraqi capital.

One security source said the strike late on Wednesday had killed a local militia commander.

A second source said three people were killed and that the vehicle targeted was used by Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, a state security agency composed of dozens of armed groups, many of them close to Iran.

The drone strike took place in the city’s eastern Mashtal neighborhood, the sources said.

Iraq has witnessed tit-for-tat attacks between hardline Iran-backed armed groups and US forces stationed in the country since the Gaza war began in October.

In January, a US drone strike killed a senior militia commander in central Baghdad, an attack Washington said came in response to drone and rocket attacks on its forces.

US officials did not immediately respond to a requests for comment on Wednesday’s strike.

More details soon …