ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – At least six members of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) were killed Monday in an unidentified strike in the town of al-Qaim in western Iraq, near the Syria border, the PMF said. 

“The attack resulted in the martyrdom of six fighters and the injury of four others, according to initial reports, while they were performing their duty,” the PMF said in a statement.

It condemned the strike as a “treacherous Zionist attack,” saying that the attack targeted a security checkpoint in the town of al-Qaim.

The PMF is a network of Iraqi armed groups that have been integrated into the state security apparatus. It includes factions that maintain strong ties to Iran.

These factions have attracted US and Israeli airstrikes amid the current war with Iran. A number of these factions are part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a group of pro-Iran militias that have struck US interests in Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and neighboring countries. 

“We in the PMF affirm that these attacks will only increase our steadfastness and determination to perform our duty in defending Iraq and preserving its sovereignty,” the PMF said. 

At least 30 members of Iran-aligned Iraqi militias have been killed since the onset of the US-Israel war on Iran over two weeks ago, according to data compiled by The New Region. 

Pro-Iran Iraqi militia groups have also struck civilian infrastructure and diplomatic facilities in the Kurdistan Region.