A US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II conducted an airstrike on a military clinic at the Habbaniyah base in Anbar province, western Iraq, on March 25, 2026, killing seven Iraqi soldiers and wounding 13 others. Iraq’s Defense Ministry reported the attack also hit an engineering unit, with the aircraft firing again as rescue teams responded.
The base hosts both Iraq’s regular army and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a paramilitary network with Iran-linked brigades. A senior Iraqi official noted a PMF facility near the struck army medical unit. This incident followed a separate attack on the same base two days prior that killed 15 PMF fighters, including a provincial commander. Neither the US nor Israel claimed responsibility for that strike.
A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, equipped with a 30mm GAU-8 Avenger rotary cannon, have targeted Iran-aligned militia positions in Iraq during Operation Epic Fury, launched February 28, 2026, against Iran. Social media videos from mid-March showed A-10s strafing such positions.
The US State Department denied targeting Iraqi forces, calling claims false and inconsistent with the US-Iraq partnership. It stated repeated requests for Iraqi security force locations went unanswered to prevent unintended incidents.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered the US chargé d’affaires summoned and a UN Security Council complaint filed. Iraq reserves response rights under the UN Charter. On March 26, the new US-Iraq High Joint Coordination Committee met, agreeing to enhance cooperation against terrorist attacks and ensure Iraqi territory is not used for aggression.