ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Friday denied reports claiming that American forces carried out an airdrop operation in the desert of Najaf province in southern Iraq, coming after Baghdad filed a complaint with the US-led coalition following the killing of an Iraqi soldier during a skirmish in the area.

“We currently have no operational reports supporting the claim that US forces conducted an airdrop in the desert of Najaf province in southern Iraq,” CENTCOM's media office said, as carried by Iraqi state media.

Iraqi authorities said Thursday that Baghdad sent a protest letter to the US-led Global Coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) after a suspected coalition operation in Najaf province led to a clash that killed one Iraqi soldier and wounded two others.

Iraq’s Deputy Commander of the Joint Operations Command, Qais al-Muhammadawi, said forces from the Karbala Operations Command were deployed to investigate reports of movement in the Najaf desert near the Karbala border.

The unit later came under heavy aerial fire, resulting in one death and two injuries. He said no force had been authorized to operate in that area and suggested the unidentified force may have been conducting reconnaissance or installing equipment.

“The Popular Mobilization Forces [PMF] are part of a security apparatus that operates under the command of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and we have issued an order for the security forces to be present in all areas, including desert regions, with intensified patrols,” he said.

The exact nature of the operation remains unclear, amid ongoing regional tensions and airstrikes by the US and Israel on Iran-aligned Iraqi groups under the PMF umbrella.