BAGHDAD, March 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Four fighters from the Tehran-backed Kataeb Imam Ali group were killed on Tuesday in air strikes blamed on the US in northern Iraq, the armed faction announced.

The group said its fighters were killed in "American aggression" against their position in the Debs district of Kirkuk province.

The bombing targeted a position that belongs to the Hashed al-Shaabi, which is an alliance of factions now integrated into Iraq's regular army and includes powerful Iran-backed groups.

The Iraqi government's security information cell confirmed that several Hashed fighters were killed in a "bombing" in Kirkuk, without attributing the strike to anyone.

"It is a blatant attack on Iraq," it said.

Since the start of the Middle East war, bases belonging to Hashed al-Shaabi, or the Popular Mobilisation Forces, have been hit several times, with strikes targeting pro-Iran fighters.

Iraq, long a proxy battleground between the US and Iran, had said it did not want to be dragged into the war, but it has not been spared.

It was drawn into the conflict from the outset, with strikes blamed on the United States and Israel targeting Iran-backed groups, which have since claimed attacks on US bases in Iraq and the wider region.

Drone and rocket attacks have targeted Baghdad International Airport, which houses a military base and a US diplomatic facility, as well as oil fields and facilities.

On Monday night, two drones were downed near the military base, a security source told AFP.

The northern autonomous Kurdistan region, which hosts US troops, has been a main target of drone attacks but these have been largely intercepted.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Tuesday that they had targeted a US base in the region.

"The headquarters of the invading US army in Al-Harir Air Base in the Kurdistan region was targeted with five missiles," the Guards said in a statement.

Late on Monday, Kurdish counter-terrorism forces said US-led coalition forces had "downed three explosive-laden drones over Erbil", the capital of the Kurdistan region.

One drone fell near the UAE consulate in Erbil, their statement added.

A Kurdish security source told AFP that the drone was likely aimed at the US consulate but did not reach its target and fell instead near the Emirati mission.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry condemned the targeting of the UAE consulate.