Iraq denies coordination with Washington on strikes

By Murat Basoglu and Abdul Jabbar Aburas

Baghdad denied on Saturday any prior coordination with the US on its latest strikes in Iraq.

American aircraft bombed Iraqi bases in Akashat and Al-Qaim regions as well as civilian neighborhoods nearby, said Iraqi government spokesman Bassem Al-Awadi.

In doing so, "the American administration committed a new aggression against the sovereignty of Iraq," the Iraqi News Agency (INA) said quoting Awadi.

“This blatant aggression led to the death of 16 people, including civilians, in addition to 25 wounded, and also caused losses and damage to residential buildings and property,” the spokesman added.

He accused the American side of deceiving "by announcing prior coordination to commit this aggression."

The US started airstrikes on Friday against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Quds Force and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria after a suicide drone attack killed three American troops in Jordan.

In all, more than 85 targets were hit with more than 125 precision munitions, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.

A weapons depot belonging to the Hashd al-Shaabi Shiite militia force was hit late Friday in a US attack in western Iraq, according to a Telegram post affiliated with the Nujaba Movement, an Iran-backed Shiite militia group in Iraq.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi