Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi Denies Airstrike Reports on Anbar Base

Date: 23 September 2019 - 22:49

News ID: ۷۰۸۲۶

ERBIL (Dispatches) – A senior official with Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, also known as Hashd al-Sha’abi has denied reports that one of their bases was subject to an airstrike from an unidentified attacker.
On Sunday, Hashd al-Sha’abi-affiliated sources said a military base belonging to the group was attacked by unidentified drones in the west of Anbar province.
However, Jawad Kadhim al-Rubaie, Head of Movements in the PMF Commission, said in a statement that explosions could be heard in the al-Mursinat area west of Anbar at 1:00 PM "without knowing the type or source.”
"The reconnaissance and intelligence efforts were stepped up for the purpose of determining the location and type of explosion, but it was found that there was no targeting by drone,” al-Rubaie said.
The Hashd al-Sha’abi official called on media agencies to acquire information through "verified sources.”
Earlier on Saturday, a Hashd al-Sha’abi Anbar commander and a Fatih alliance MP reported that an airstrike on the base had taken place.
"The military base was attacked today [Sunday, September 22], in an unidentified strike," Commander Qassim Muslih said on Sunday, adding that the base is located within the al-Mursinat airbase used by the Iraqi Army and Iraqi Border Guard Police.
"The explosion was powerful, shaking nearby buildings, but it did not cause human or material losses as the explosion occurred outside the base," added Muslih.
Mohammed Baldawi, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s Fatih alliance which includes Hashd al-Sha’abi-affiliated politicians, said on Sunday that the attack was against Hashd al-Shaabi's Operations Command headquarters in Anbar.
"However, the strike missed its target, instead hitting the outskirts of the base. There was only minor material damage,” Baldawi said.