US Military Denies Any Involvement in Airstrike That Hit Iran-Backed Forces in Iraq

Roughly 2,500 U.S. troops are currently deployed in Iraq.

Abu Fadak Al-Mohammedawi (2nd L), chief of staff of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces visits personnel at a hospital in Hilla in the central province of Babylon after they were wounded in an overnight blast in an Iraqi military base housing a coalition of pro-Iranian armed groups on April 20, 2024. Karar Jabbar/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. military has said that it has no reason to believe that U.S. forces were responsible for a huge blast reported at a military base in Iraq that killed a member of Iraq’s Iran-backed paramilitary forces on April 19.

U.S. Central Command said in a post on social media platform X late on April 19: “We are aware of reports claiming that the United States conducted airstrikes in Iraq today. Those reports are not true. The United States has not conducted airstrikes in Iraq today.”