Two killed in strikes on Iraq base, pro-Iran group threatens US

Two people were killed Saturday in air strikes on an Iraqi military base housing the powerful pro-Iran group Kataeb Hezbollah, which has threatened the US with an imminent response.

The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday, with the Islamic republic retaliating with barrages of missiles targeting Gulf states and Israel.

The Iraqi government's security media cell announced that "at 11:50 am (0850 GMT), the Jurf al-Nasr area... was targeted by several air strikes, resulting in the martyrdom of two people".

The Jurf al-Sakher base, also known as Jurf al-Nasr, in southern Iraq belongs to the Hashed al-Shaabi or the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a former paramilitary group now integrated into the regular army.

But the largest contingent on the base is made up of members of Kataeb Hezbollah.

A source from the Iran-backed group told AFP that "there are two martyrs from Kataeb... in the aggression on the Jurf al-Nasr base".

Kataeb Hezbollah warned in a statement "we will soon begin attacking American bases in response to their aggression".

Soon after, Kurdish security forces said US-led coalition forces downed several missiles and explosive-laden drones over the city of Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region.

No casualties or material damage were reported.

AFP journalists earlier reported that explosions were heard near the US consulate in Erbil, and that smoke was visible in the sky.

- Airspace closed -

Sabah al-Numan, the military spokesman for the Iraqi prime minister, said that Baghdad "condemned the unjustified aggression against the Islamic republic", and "warned of the consequences of the blatant aggression" against Iraqi sites.

Numan warned against using Iraq's airspace and territory "as a corridor or launching point for aggression against Iran".

Iraq "equally rejects the use of its land or territorial waters as a means of dragging the country into the conflict", he added.

The Iraqi News Agency (INA) quoted a "senior source" as saying that the US told Baghdad that it wants to keep Iraq out of the ongoing war.

Earlier Saturday, Iraq said it had closed its airspace.

Witnesses and a military source told AFP that warplanes and missiles were seen flying through Iraqi airspace.

- 'Immense losses' -

The US-blacklisted Kataeb Hezbollah has several brigades that operate within the Hashed al-Shaabi.

It is also part of the Iran-backed, so-called "axis of resistance" and has a reputation for acting on its own.

The group warned the US on Thursday of "immense losses" should it start a war in the region, and urged its fighters "to prepare for a potentially long war of attrition".

Pro-Iran armed groups did not intervene during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last year.

For months during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Iran-backed groups carried out attacks against US troops in the region and mostly failed attempts against Israel.

Under mounting US and domestic pressure, these attacks came to a halt, while pressure on the groups to disarm has grown.

The recent flare-up has also impacted the Kurdistan region's gas supply.

Kurdistan's electricity and natural resources ministries said that "to protect employees at the Khor Mor field, Dana Gas has suspended natural gas exports to power plants" in the region.

The Khor Mor complex, which supplies most of Kurdistan's power stations and is run by the Emirati firm Dana Gas, has been hit several times in recent years in attacks blamed on pro-Iran Iraqi groups.