BAGHDAD, March 12 (Xinhua) -- One member of Iraq's paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) was killed and four others injured Thursday evening in an attack on a military camp in Baghdad amid a surge of drone and missile attacks across Iraq targeting military bases.
A source from the Iraqi Interior Ministry told Xinhua that a military base in the Dora district of southern Baghdad, which houses headquarters for various security forces, including the PMF, was hit by an aerial bombardment on Thursday evening.
The strike resulted in the death of one PMF member and left at least four others wounded, the source said, adding that the attack also caused significant material damage to military vehicles and buildings within the facility.
In a separate incident, the Baghdad diplomatic support center belonging to the U.S. Embassy at the Victoria base near the Baghdad International Airport was targeted by a drone attack, he said.
Air defense systems successfully intercepted and shot down the drone without reported casualties, he added.
Earlier in the day, a separate series of airstrikes targeted PMF positions in the western Anbar province and the northern province of Kirkuk, leaving a total of 35 members dead and at least 69 others injured, according to provincial security sources.
Over the past few days, dozens of PMF members have been killed in attacks, for which the group blamed U.S.-Israeli operations.
The attacks came amid heightened regional tensions following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran starting on Feb. 28, to which Iran and its regional proxies responded with missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. interests throughout the Middle East. ■
