BAGHDAD: Iraq closed the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran after airstrikes on the Iranian side killed an Iraqi citizen, security sources said on Saturday.
The sources said at least five Iraqis were seriously wounded in the strikes, which hit a passenger reception area on the Iranian side.
Iraqi police recovered the body of a man, while the wounded were taken to hospital, most in critical condition.
Iraq's border authorities ordered the crossing closed to trade and travellers, the authorities said in a statement.
Strike kills one Iraqi fighter near Syria border
Iraq has been dragged into the war between the United States, Israel and Iran, with strikes targeting both US interests and pro-Iran groups in the country.
“This treacherous attack resulted in the martyrdom of one PMF fighter and the wounding of four others, as well as a member of the ministry of defense,” said a short statement from the group, which is also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, adding it was a “Zionist-American attack.”
The PMF is a coalition of armed groups — formed in 2014 to fight jihadists — that is now part of Iraq’s regular army. But it also contains pro-Iran factions with a reputation for acting independently.
PMF positions have been repeatedly targeted since the outbreak of war, with the group consistently blaming the attacks on the United States and Israel.
According to the PMF statement, the latest attack targeted a position in western Anbar province of the 45th Brigade, which belongs to the US-blacklisted, pro-Iran Kataeb Hezbollah group.
Kataeb Hezbollah is part of the umbrella movement known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which has been claiming daily attacks since the start of the war on US interests in Iraq and the region.
The Pentagon has said helicopters have carried out strikes against pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq during the war.
Washington has strongly denied claims that it has targeted Iraqi security forces.
On Saturday, two drones caused a fire after they hit the southern Burjesia oil complex which houses foreign companies, a security source told AFP.
Many foreign oil facilities in Iraq have paused operations since the war began.
