Airstrikes Target PMF Headquarters in Iraq's Al-Qaim and Kirkuk

Airstrikes Target PMF Headquarters in Iraq's Al-Qaim and Kirkuk

Amidst the ongoing and unprecedented regional war involving the United States, Israel, and the Iranian-aligned Axis of Resistance, a series of deadly airstrikes targeted facilities belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq on March 9, 2026.

In the city of Al-Qaim, located near the Syrian border, an Iraqi security source informed Al Jazeera that 10 people were killed and several others injured in an airstrike on the PMF headquarters. This casualty toll was corroborated by the local Iraqi news channel Wahid Iraq. Al Jazeera, a Qatari state-funded network, frequently highlights Axis of Resistance narratives and casualties while maintaining a mainstream journalistic format.

Additional strikes hit PMF positions in northern Iraq. A PMF source told Al Jazeera that 5 people were killed and more than 18 were injured in two separate raids targeting the headquarters of PMF Brigade 40 northwest of Kirkuk. Earlier in the day, both Al Jazeera and Wahid Iraq relayed a Reuters report citing security and medical sources, which initially placed the toll of the Kirkuk attack at one dead and seven injured.

The strikes drew immediate backlash from Iraqi militant factions. In a statement published by Al Jazeera, the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq movement condemned the aggression that targeted the headquarters of Brigade 40. These incidents follow violent riots against American diplomatic missions in Iraq earlier in the month, which were triggered by the US and Israeli strikes on Iranian leadership.