Airstrike in central Baghdad kills Iran-backed militia leader as regional tensions escalate

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and ABBY SEWELL
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — Officials say an airstrike on the logistical support headquarters of an Iran-backed militia in central Baghdad has killed a high-ranking militia commander. Thursday’s strike comes amid mounting regional tensions fueled by the Israel-Hamas war and fears that it could spill over into surrounding countries. The Popular Mobilization Force, or PMF, a coalition of militias that is nominally under the control of the Iraqi military, announced in a statement that its deputy head of operations in Baghdad, Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, or “Abu Taqwa,” had been killed “as a result of brutal American aggression.”