A US air strike killed four Iran-backed fighters in northern Iraq, escalating tensions in a region already on edge from ongoing drone and missile attacks.

BAGHDAD: Kataeb Imam Ali, an armed faction integrated into Iraq’s official security forces, announced that four of its fighters were killed in what it called “American aggression” against their position in the Debs district of Kirkuk province on Tuesday.

The Iraqi government’s security information cell confirmed that several fighters from the Hashed al-Shaabi alliance were killed in a “bombing” in Kirkuk, stating “it is a blatant attack on Iraq” without directly attributing the strike.

This incident is the latest in a series of attacks targeting the Iran-backed Popular Mobilisation Forces, which have been hit several times since the start of the wider Middle East conflict.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed on Tuesday that they had retaliated by targeting “the headquarters of the invading US army in Al-Harir Air Base in the Kurdistan region” with five missiles.

The northern autonomous Kurdistan region, which hosts US troops, has been a primary target for such attacks, though most have been intercepted by defence systems.

Late on Monday, Kurdish counter-terrorism forces stated that US-led coalition forces had “downed three explosive-laden drones over Erbil”, the regional capital.

One of those drones fell near the UAE consulate in Erbil after likely missing its intended target, which a Kurdish security source told AFP was the US consulate.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry subsequently condemned the targeting of the UAE consulate in the attack.

Iraq has repeatedly stated it does not want to be drawn into the regional war but has found itself a proxy battleground for US-Iran tensions, with its territory used for strikes and counter-strikes.

 The Sun Malaysia