Militia hit by U.S. airstrikes in Iraq claims no connection to attacks on American troops

Amna Nawaz:

That U.S. airstrike in Baghdad tonight killed a leader of a group that struck American forces for years and was a target of the first American strikes last Friday. But another group bore most of the dead and casualties and claims no connection to the attacks on the U.S.

Special correspondent Simona Foltyn traveled to the site of those airstrikes in Western Iraq and met members of this other paramilitary group for this exclusive report.

Simona Foltyn:

Conflict is spreading through the Middle East; 400 miles from Gaza, another front has claimed three American and many more Iraqi lives.

We have been driving for hours into the deserts of Western Iraq to reach a place called Akashat. It's located near Iraq's border with Syria and has been heavily hit by American airstrikes.

Those strikes were the Biden administration's response to a drone attack that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan, but who exactly did they hit? This stretch of barren land has been carved up between a number of armed actors jostling for power and control over the strategic border.

Akashat, a small town left abandoned since the war with ISIS, falls under the 13th Brigade of the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of paramilitary forces formed to fight ISIS beginning in 2014 and that are now officially part of Iraq's security forces.

Abu Saif witnessed the attacks. He tells me that the first missile struck the military hospital.

Abu Saif Al-Tammi, Soldier, Popular Mobilization Forces (through interpreter):

Around three to four rockets hit the hospital. Five people were inside. All of them were killed.

Simona Foltyn:

The wrecked hulk of an ambulance still lies beneath the rubble; 17 PMF members in total were killed.

Abu Saif Al-TamimI (through interpreter):

They targeted other places in this compound, so that anyone who's injured can't get medical care.

Simona Foltyn:

So you think it was on purpose?

Abu Saif Al-TamimI (through interpreter):

Yes, it was on purpose. Why else would they start with the hospital?

Simona Foltyn:

This is the first time Brigade 13, also called Liwa Tafuf, was targeted by the United States, and many here are struggling to understand why. It's not part of the four entities that make up another, more secretive grouping called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which has claimed responsibility for attacking American troops at bases throughout Iraq and Syria.

Abu Saif Al-TamimI (through interpreter):

We don't have anything to do with the attacks. They can't get to those who carry out the attacks, so they target those protecting the country's borders.

Simona Foltyn:

The group that is believed responsible for the bulk of attacks on American forces is Kataib Hezbollah. I visited their bases not far from Akashat back in 2021.

Kataib Hezbollah is the most powerful of the self-dubbed resistance, but part of it has been incorporated into the larger PMF, and it tries to use this official government-bestowed status to shield itself from American retaliation.

The United States has designated Kataib Hezbollah and other members of their resistance as terror organizations.

The Pentagon said that American fighter jets hit — quote — "terrorist groups supported by Iran's Revolutionary Guards" — unquote — and not the Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF, which is part of the Iraqi state. But the targeting of the PMF's Brigade 13 here in Akashat raises questions about those claims and the accuracy of the intelligence.

The other possibility, some Iraqi officials worry, is that the United States has broadened its definition of what it regards as a legitimate target to all of the PMF. Under heavy guard, the commander arrives to inspect the aftermath of the strikes. His men warily eye an American surveillance drone hovering above.

Qasem Musleh heads Brigade 13 and the PMF in this area. He tells me that these installations have never been used to launch attacks on American forces.

Qasem Musleh, Commander, Popular Mobilization Forces (through interpreter):

This place and this entire sector falls under my responsibility. It has no aggressive activities towards American forces. We are part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, and we take our orders from the prime minister.

Simona Foltyn:

There are accusations against you that the 13th Brigade, or Liwa Tafuf, enabled groups like Kataib Hezbollah to launch attacks against the Americans.

Qasem Musleh (through interpreter):

First of all, I hope that the United States will reveal one piece of evidence that there is support to the resistance factions. There was no leadership here, as they claimed, or people with ties to foreign countries, or who took part in strikes on coalition forces.

Simona Foltyn:

So you can say with absolute confidence that your brigade has never attacked American forces?

Qasem Musleh (through interpreter):

Absolutely not, and we won't.

Simona Foltyn:

What is your message to the American government?

Qasem Musleh (through interpreter):

First of all, let them review their accounts and their agents who transmit information. The information they received is false. They should verify the information they received, because there are innocent people here.

Simona Foltyn:

The White House gave plenty of advance warning of impending strikes, giving the factions responsible for attacking American troops time to vacate their facilities, and leaving others to pay the price, including civilians.

We drive onwards to al-Qaim, where American strikes targeted a Kataib Hezbollah base inside a residential area. There, I met Anmar Al-Rawi. His younger brother, 20-year-old student Abdelrahman, was killed when a missile fell on the family home.

Anmar Al-RawI, Brother of Bombing Victim (through interpreter): I was here when it happened. I carried my brother's body away with my own hands. We are civilians. This is our area. It belongs to us, Iraqis.

Simona Foltyn:

This security camera captured the impact, another clip filmed on a cell phone the sobs of desperate relatives.

It's unclear whether this was a direct hit from an American warplane or secondary explosions from weapons depots that caught fire.

Who do you think bears the responsibility for your brother's death?

Anmar Al-RawI (through interpreter):

In the first place, the Americans. Of course, their strike was a reaction to the attack on them, but their response fell on the civilians, not on the militaries. Not one from Kataib Hezbollah was killed. They knew there was ammunition in the base and that civilians would be affected.

Simona Foltyn:

Nearby, people gather to pay their respects for the dead. Many Iraqis see the U.S. strikes not as self-defense, but as yet another violation of their country's sovereignty.

Tribal leader Ragheb Al-Karbouli fears worse is yet to come.

Sheik Ragheb Al-Karbouli, Tribal Leader (through interpreter):

Perhaps, if things continue to develop like this with action and reaction by the parties involved, it may lead to an unpredictable regional war.

Simona Foltyn:

I ask him what the solution is to prevent further escalation.

Sheik Ragheb Al-Karbouli (through interpreter):

The solution to the solution is the Palestinian issue. An independent Palestinian state with full sovereignty will give an opportunity for security and peace in the entire region.

Simona Foltyn:

By striking inside Iraq, many here think the United States is fueling anger, while not making enough effort to address the root causes of what has already become a regional war.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Simona Foltyn in Western Iraq.