Strikes kill two fighters in northwestern Iraq

IRBIL, Iraq: Strikes in northwestern Iraq killed two fighters from the former paramilitary coalition Hashed Al-Shaabi on Wednesday, the alliance said, blaming the US and Israel.
Iraq has been unwillingly drawn into the war started by Israel and the US on February 28, with strikes targeting both US interests and pro-Iran groups in the country.
The alliance, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), is now part of Iraq’s regular armed forces although it also contains pro-Iran factions.
Two fighters, including a commander, were killed in two strikes on a position in Tal Afar district in Nineveh Governorate, near the Syrian border, a PMF statement said.
It said four were wounded in the “treacherous Zionist-American attack.”
Earlier, an official with the group had put the number of wounded at six.
Earlier, a drone attack near Irbil, capital of the northern autonomous Kurdistan region, caused a massive fire at the storage facilities of an engine oil firm.
Irbil hosts a major US consulate complex, while its airport houses military advisers attached to a US-led international anti-jihadist coalition. Both have been regularly targeted since the outbreak of war.
Irbil’s governor Omed Khoshnaw said the attack had started at around 7:00 am local (0400 GMT) and that four drones had targeted the facility.
He said a double-tap attack had occurred “while the teams were still working, the same site was attacked by another drone.”
A fourth drone was “destroyed mid-air before reaching its target,” he said.
Iraqi firm Sardar Group confirmed in a statement that the facility, a warehouse located around five kilometers (three miles) from Irbil, was attacked.
It said there were no casualties.
The strike followed a heavy night of attacks near the regional capital, with Khoshnaw saying some 20 drones had been shot down over the city.