Iraq to probe deadly drone attack attributed to Israel

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq launches an investigation into a purported Israeli strike that killed a paramilitary fighter, its military says, renewing fears of a proxy war in the battered country.

Sunday’s attack struck a position held by Brigade 45, a Hashed al-Shaabi unit based near Iraq’s desert western border with Syria, killing one fighter and severely wounding a second.

“An investigation is ongoing now to determine what happened with the strike,” Iraq’s military spokesman Yehya Rasool tells AFP.

But the Hashed, a powerful paramilitary force that fights alongside Iraq’s military, was quick to blame Israel in a statement on Sunday. It said two Israeli drones had targeted the Brigade 45 position near Al-Qaim, about 15 kilometers (10 miles) from the border, with US air cover.

The attack killed Kazem Mohsen, Brigade 45’s “logistical support chief” who was also known by his nom de guerre Abu Ali al-Dabi.

— AFP