The Times of Israel is liveblogging Saturday’s events as they happen.
US military formally denies American forces carried out attack in Iraq
WASHINGTON — The US military says its forces were not behind a reported strike on an Iraqi military base.
“The United States has not conducted air strikes in Iraq today,” US Central Command says on X, adding that reports American forces had carried out a strike are “not true.”
IRAQ: Massive explosion in Kalsu military camp in Babil, strikes targeted pro-Iran PMF. At least one killed, Israel suspected pic.twitter.com/BhSK2HT7tA
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) April 19, 2024
Israeli official tells CNN that Israel not behind strike on pro-Iran militias in Iraq
Israel has no connection to blasts in Iraq this evening, an Israeli official tells CNN, after an Iraqi coalition of pro-Iran militias said a military base it uses was targeted in an airstrike.
Iran-allied militias in Iraq confirm base hit in attack; US official: We didn’t strike
BAGHDAD — An airstrike early Saturday hit a base used by the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iran-allied militias in Iraq, the group says in a statement.
It’s not clear who was responsible for the purported attack, which came a day after a suspected Israeli strike in Iran, but militia officials blame US forces.
A US official says there were no US airstrikes in Iraq. The official speaks on the condition of anonymity to provide details that are not public.
In recent months, some PMF member groups staged attacks on US forces based in Iraq and Syria, which they said was in retaliation for Washington’s support of Israel in its war with the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
Iran’s FM threatens swift and ‘maximum level’ response if Israel ‘wants to do another adventurism’
WASHINGTON — Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says that Iran will respond at an immediate and “maximum level” if Israel acts against its interests.
“If Israel wants to do another adventurism and acts against the interests of Iran, our next response will be immediate and will be at the maximum level,” Amirabdollahian says, speaking through a translator, in an interview with NBC News.
His comments follow reports of an Israeli strike on Iran early Friday.
One said killed in ‘bombing’ of Iraqi military base used by pro-Iran militias
BAGHDAD — A huge blast rocks a military base used by Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces to the south of Baghdad, two PMF and two security sources tell Reuters.
The two security sources say the blast was a result of an unknown airstrike, which happened around midnight.
The two PMF sources point out the strikes did not lead to casualties but caused material damage. However, an Iraqi interior ministry source quoted by AFP says the “bombing” killed one person and wounded eight others.
Sources in the PMF, also known as the Hashed al-Shaabi, say the strikes targeted a headquarters of the Iran-backed grouping of militias at the Kalso military base, near the town of Iskandariya around 50 kilometers south of Baghdad.