Israel charged for drone attack

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi accused Israel of a deadly drone attack on Sunday that left one paramilitary fighter dead, the first time the force has directly blamed the Jewish state for such a raid.

The attack struck a position held by Brigade 45, a Hashed al-Shaabi unit based near Al-Qaim about 15 kilometers (10 miles) from Iraq’s western desertic border with neighboring Syria.

It is the latest in a string of suspicious explosions and drone sightings at Hashed bases that have sparked concern of a possible proxy war between Iran, the US and Israel on Iraqi soil — or in its airspace.

“As part of the string of Zionist attacks on Iraq, the evil Israeli crows have returned to target the Hashed al-Shaabi, this time with two drones inside Iraqi territory,” the statement said.

It said one fighter was killed and another heavily wounded, revising an earlier toll of two dead.

“This blatant attack came with air cover over the area from American planes, in addition to a large balloon to monitor the area near the site of the incident,” the force added.

Blasts have been reported at four other Hashed bases since mid-July, and a fifth unit near Baghdad said on Thursday it had shot at a surveillance drone flying over its position.