The office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani has strongly condemned recent airstrikes targeting Iran-backed paramilitary forces in Babil province. The prime minister’s spokesperson, Yehia Rasool, denounced the attacks, attributing them to the US-led global coalition and warning of their potential to undermine joint efforts to combat the Islamic State (ISIS).

“Despite all efforts through political and diplomatic channels, and the efforts made by the supreme military technical committees … the international coalition forces committed a heinous crime and a blatant aggression,” Rasool stated on Wednesday. He specified that fighter jets originating from beyond Iraq's borders had targeted sites belonging to Iraqi security forces in northern Babil province.

The airstrikes, which occurred late Tuesday, reportedly resulted in the deaths of four fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), according to media sources. Rasool emphasized that such actions could destabilize collaborative security efforts against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, potentially escalating conflicts within the region.

“These serious and uncalculated violations can significantly undermine all efforts, mechanisms, and frameworks of joint security work to combat ISIS in Iraq and Syria,” Rasool added. “They could also drag Iraq and the entire region into conflicts, wars, and serious repercussions.”

The incident occurred amid ongoing discussions between Iraq and the United States regarding the future of the coalition’s mission in the country. Wednesday’s statement from the Iraqi premier’s office highlighted that the coalition operates under a specific mandate and mission agreed upon with a common enemy, and the recent attacks represent a severe breach of this mission and mandate.

In response to the airstrikes, the Iraqi government has pledged to take appropriate legal and diplomatic measures to protect its sovereignty and security. The PMF announced that a drone strike had targeted one of its brigades stationed in Jurf al-Nasr (formerly Jurf al-Sakhr) early Wednesday, without assigning blame to any party.

Additionally, Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah claimed that the US strike targeted a group of drone experts involved in reconnaissance missions along the borders of Karbala. The attack was reportedly launched from a base in Kuwait, prompting Kataib Hezbollah to warn Kuwaiti officials against allowing their territory to be used for “American criminal actions.”

The strikes come shortly after high-level meetings between Iraqi defense and Peshmerga officials and US defense representatives in Washington to discuss the coalition’s future. During last week’s Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue, US State Secretary Lloyd Austin III and Iraqi Minister of Defense Thabet Muhammad al-Abbasi deliberated on the evolving role of the coalition forces in Iraq.

While Baghdad seeks to conclude the presence of coalition forces, Washington views the transition as a shift in the coalition’s role. This divergence has been a topic of ongoing dialogue, with no set timelines for US force changes in Iraq as of yet.

The airstrikes have reignited tensions reminiscent of previous US retaliatory actions against pro-Iran Iraqi paramilitary groups, which had drawn significant criticism from the Iraqi government. Notably, the assassination of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and deputy chief of Iraq’s PMF, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in early 2020 remains a sore point in US-Iraq relations, underscoring the delicate balance in their security partnership.