US and Saudi Arabia Launch Joint Airstrikes Against Iran-Backed Groups in Iraq

The US and Saudi Arabia have jointly launched airstrikes against Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq, marking the first major US military action in the Middle East since last Friday. The strikes targeted several bases across Iraq, killing at least 20 members of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and wounding 32 others.

The US and Saudi Arabia said they launched the joint airstrikes in retaliation for drone attacks on Saudi oil targets launched from Iraq. This move potentially widens the conflict by drawing Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia into combat against Shi'ite proxies of Iran on a new front.

Iraq's Shi'ite-led government called an emergency meeting following the airstrikes, which have sparked outrage among Iraqi men who shouted sectarian slogans and 'Death to America!' as they carried the bodies of slain fighters out of a hospital in Mosul.