US and Saudi Arabia Strike Iran-Backed Groups in Iraq

A new round of fighting in the Middle East has resumed after the US and Saudi Arabia jointly launched airstrikes against Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq. The strikes, which marked the first major US military action in the region since last Friday, targeted several bases across Iraq and killed at least 20 members of the Popular Mobilisation Forces, a powerful Iran-backed paramilitary group incorporated into the formal Iraqi security forces.

The US and Saudi Arabia said they launched the joint strikes in retaliation for drone attacks on Saudi oil targets launched from Iraq. The 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, which has maintained close military and diplomatic ties with both Tehran and Washington, called an emergency meeting to address the situation.