WASHINGTON/BAGHDAD – At least 15 members of Iraq's paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) were killed early Wednesday in US-Saudi strikes targeting their positions across several Iraqi provinces, according to official statements and a security source.

The attacks hit the PMF headquarters in the Iraqi provinces of Basra, Diyala, Salahuddin, Nineveh, and Karbala, killing at least 15 people, an Iraqi Interior Ministry security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the PMF described the attacks as a highly dangerous escalation and a violation of Iraq's sovereignty, adding that relevant authorities are monitoring the situation on the ground while damage assessments remain ongoing.

ALSO READ: US approves nearly $2b weapons sale to Saudi Arabia

In a separate statement, the Nineveh Operations Command of the PMF said the headquarters of the 4th Battalion of the 30th Brigade and the Anti-Armor Directorate in the Nineveh Plain area, near northern Nineveh's provincial capital Mosul, were struck in the early morning by seven aerial strikes.

It said the attack killed eight members of the 30th Brigade and two members of the Anti-Armor Directorate, while injuring six others.

The PMF is an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization comprising dozens of paramilitary factions, and was formally integrated into the Iraqi armed forces following the campaign against the extremist Islamic State group.

Earlier in the day, the US Central Command confirmed the operation in a statement, saying that US and Saudi Arabian forces on Tuesday carried out precision airstrikes against Iran-aligned militants in Iraq following a wave of drone attacks targeting US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.  

Iran-linked militants in Iraq struck

"US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq in a strong response to over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours," the command said on X, referring to the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC).

"The unwarranted attacks against US forces were not successful," it said.

Noting that Iran-aligned militias in Iraq had conducted more than 600 attempted attacks on US citizens and facilities from February through April, the command warned that the IRGC and its "proxies" must cease such attacks or face further US military response.

Shortly after the release of the statement, an explosion struck the PMF headquarters, according to media reports.

Tuesday's strikes came amid heightened tensions following months of US-Iran hostilities, during which alleged Iraqi attacks on US forces in the country and elsewhere in the region have been reported.