Shafaq News / An Iraqi police source confirmed on Thursday the killing of the military leader within the Al-Nujaba movement, known as Abu Taqwa, along with one of his associates, in an aerial bombardment targeting a militia headquarters east of Baghdad.
The source, speaking to Shafaq News Agency, detailed that Abu Taqwa and his companion, identified as Abu Sajjad, were targeted in their vehicle upon entering the headquarters on Palestine Street, resulting in immediate fatalities.
The casualty toll due to the airstrike rose to six wounded individuals, including a Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) intelligence officer.
Earlier in the day, a responsible security source stated on Thursday that an unidentified aerial bombardment by a drone targeted a headquarters of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) east of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
The source, speaking to Shafaq News Agency, added that the logistical support headquarters of the PMF's 12th Brigade, known as Al-Nujaba, located near the Iraqi Police College in eastern Baghdad, was subjected to an aerial strike by an unidentified drone.
The source further indicated that the attack resulted in one casualty and four injuries, as an initial toll among Al-Nujaba's members.
The leader of the Al-Nujaba movement, one of the prominent Shiite armed factions, had issued a bold statement the previous evening urging Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani to take a "bold" and clear stance by sending a message to Washington to end American presence in Iraq. He warned of an "unprecedented escalation" if the US refused to withdraw.
During a speech commemorating the fourth anniversary of the assassinations of Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis and Qasem Soleimani, the spokesman emphasized that only armed resistance and retaliation stand between them and the "arrogant, occupying killer."
He criticized the” American occupation's ambassador”, asserting that she seeks to “impose herself as a guardian over Iraq”.
The spokesman highlighted the infamous Article 3 of the agreement between Iraq and the United States, enabling the dispatch of a message to terminate US presence, urging the Iraqi government to assert sovereignty by sending this message to safeguard the nation's security and people.
He concluded by stating that if the government demanded departure and the occupation persisted, the resistance would initiate an unprecedented escalation, forcibly removing them from Iraqi soil.