Attacks in Iraq kill PMF fighters; Kurdish region president ‘targeted’

Al Jazeera · 🇶🇦 public Qatar · Mar 28, 2026 · 581 words · By Al Jazeera Staff

headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing

Generate a natural audio summary of this story

Daily briefing

What to know about Attacks in Iraq kill PMF fighters; Kurdish region president ‘targeted’

Air strikes in Iraq kill three PMF fighters, two police Ex-paramilitary group, set up to fight ISIL, but now integrated in Iraqi forces, blames US and Israel.

Claims checked 14

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center67%

Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Air strikes in Iraq kill three PMF fighters, two police Ex-paramilitary group, set up to fight ISIL, but now integrated in Iraqi forces, blames US and Israel.

Why it matters

Air strikes targeting Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) have killed three fighters and two Iraqi police, as the US-Israeli war on Iran continued to spill over Iraq’s eastern border.

Common ground

An Iraqi security source told Al Jazeera that Saturday’s double-bombing of the PMF’s headquarters near northern Iraq’s Kirkuk Airport also wounded two other fighters and six Iraqi soldiers.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Attacks in Iraq kill PMF fighters; Kurdish region president ‘targeted’?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that An Iraqi security source told Al Jazeera that Saturday’s double-bombing of the PMF’s headquarters near northern Iraq’s Kirkuk Airport also wounded two other fighters and six Iraqi soldiers?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/28/air-strikes-in-iraq-kill-three-pmf-figh…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

help Insufficient Evidence 7

schedule Pending 4

verified Verified By Reference 3

help

Claim 1: “An Iraqi security source told Al Jazeera that Saturday’s double-bombing of the PMF’s headquarters near northern Iraq’s Kirkuk Airport also wounded two other fighters and six Iraqi soldiers”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it insufficient evidence based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 2: “Masrour Barzani condemned 'in the strongest terms' the assault”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 3: “Ex-paramilitary group, set up to fight ISIL, but now integrated in Iraqi forces, blames US and Israel”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it verified by reference based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 Iran war has involved Iraq, where Iranian forces and allied militias conducted missile and drone strikes against coalition facilities and targeted areas in Baghdad and Kurdistan Region.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_in_the_2026_Iran_war

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF; Arabic: قوات الحشد الشعبي, romanized: Quwwāt al-Ḥashd ash-Shaʿbī), also known as the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iranian-backed paramilitary umbrella …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_Mobilization_Forces

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — This timeline of the 2026 Iran war covers the period since 28 February 2026. The war is ongoing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2026_Iran_war

help

Claim 4: “The PMF was formed on the orders of Najaf-based Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in 2014 to fight ISIL (ISIS)”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it insufficient evidence based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 5: “The PMF takes its orders from Baghdad, but some factions are loyal to Tehran”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it insufficient evidence based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 6: “A drone crashed into the southern Majnoon oilfield 'without detonating, causing no damage or injuries'”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 7: “A drone attack on the house of Nechirvan Barzani, president of the Kurdish region”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 8: “French President Emmanuel Macron called increased attacks in Iraq a 'worrying development'”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 9: “Drones targeting an airbase serving as a hub for US and coalition forces near Erbil airport in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it insufficient evidence based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 10: “Air strikes targeting Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) have killed three fighters and two Iraqi police”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it verified by reference based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Events of the year 2026 in Iraq.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_in_Iraq

menu_book

help

Claim 11: “Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque said that Iraq was turning into an 'expanding battleground' in the crisis”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it insufficient evidence based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 12: “Reuters news agency quoted security sources as saying that two members of the Iraqi police were killed in an air strike targeting the PMF in Mosul”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it insufficient evidence based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 13: “Baghdad has found itself 'on a tightrope' between the US and Iran”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it insufficient evidence based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 14: “Air strikes in Iraq kill three PMF fighters, two police”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it verified by reference based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Events of the year 2026 in Iraq.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_in_Iraq

menu_book

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.