Strike kills fighter in northern Iraq: ex-paramilitaries

BAGHDAD: A strike killed a fighter from former paramilitary coalition Hashed Al-Shaabi at a military airfield in northern Iraq on Friday, the group said, blaming the attack on the United States and Israel.
Iraq has been unwillingly drawn into the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israel attack on its neighbor Iran on February 28.
Strikes have targeted Iran-backed groups, which in turn have claimed near-daily attacks on US interests in Iraq and across the region.
“One fighter was martyred and another wounded,” in the latest strike at a military air base in the Tuz Khurmatu area, Hashed Al-Shaabi said in a statement.
On Thursday, the Pentagon acknowledged for the first time that combat helicopters had carried out strikes against pro-Iranian armed groups in Iraq during the latest conflict that has engulfed the region.
Overnight from Friday to Saturday, at least three drone attacks targeted a US diplomatic and logistics hub that houses US military personnel at Baghdad International Airport, according to two security officials.
One of the officials said that a fire broke near the base following the third attack.