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3. New Strikes on Iraq Base Housing Iran-Backed Fighters: Faction Source

New strikes hit an Iraqi military base housing Kataeb Hezbollah, a source from the pro-Iran armed group said on Monday.

"Three strikes hit Jurf al-Nasr," a Kataeb Hezbollah source told AFP, referring to a military base that serves as one of the main bastions of the powerful armed group that has been repeatedly targeted since the start of the Israel-US campaign on Iran.

Iraq, which has recently regained a sense of stability but has long been a proxy battleground between the US and Iran, said it did not want to be dragged into the war.

However, several Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, including Kataeb Hezbollah, have said they would not stay "neutral" and would defend the Islamic republic.

A shadowy group called Saraya Awliyaa al-Dam (Guardians of Blood), which claims to be part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, said on Telegram it was behind early Monday morning drone attacks on Baghdad airport.

In a separate incident in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region, an AFP photographer witnessed air defence systems intercepting at least two drones near Erbil airport on Monday.

Since the start of the US-Israel campaign on Iran, drones have repeatedly been intercepted over Erbil, which hosts US-led coalition troops and is also home to a major US consulate complex.

AFP