On March 12 Ansar Allah’s 19th Hashd Brigade was struck by at least two airstrikes in Akashat, Anbar. When rescue teams arrived they were hit as well. At least 35 were killed and around 90 were wounded. That was by far the highest number of casualties by any operation by the United States and Israel since the Iran War started. Before that the Hashd announced that there had been a total of 27 dead and 50 injured.
Other Hashd positions were hit during the day as well. Kataib Hezbollah’s base in Jurf al-Sakhr in Babil faced an airstrike. Camp Saqr south of Baghdad was targeted by at least two airstrikes that killed one and wounded 2 more. Headquarters for Asaib Ahl Al-Haq in Salahaddin and Kataib Hezbollah in Fallujah were targeted by planes.
On the other side Iran and its Iraqi allies were active as well. An Italian base was hit by a missile while one drone got through air defenses and struck a British camp both in Irbil. A drone tried to hit the Diplomatic Support Center at Baghdad airport. A drone struck a Kurdistan Democratic Party Iran camp in Koya, Irbil. Air defenses intercepted four drones over Irbil City while the governor said that 17 had been downed over night in the province.
Tehran continued its strategy of going after Iraq’s oil sector. Two drones hit a radar installation at the Majnoon oil field in Basra. Iran is hoping that these attacks will continue to raise oil prices and put pressure on President Trump to stop the war.
An American KC-135 cargo plane went down in Iraq. The U.S. Central Command claimed this was not due to hostile fire but the Resistance stated it was responsible and then said it hit a second U.S. plane later in the day.
The Iraqi Defense Ministry announced that a unit from the 14th Division in Makhmour, Ninewa had to deal with four drones. It’s not clear which side was responsible.
The war is starting to have a political impact in Baghdad. Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani is being attacked by members of the Resistance. On March 10 the Iraqi forces surrounded a Hashd unit in Taji in northern Baghdad after a drone crashed at the Baghdad Airport. The Resistance claimed that this was an example of the premier following American orders to go after pro-Iranian groups. His rival Nuri al-Maliki who is a candidate to be the next PM is backing the Resistance.
On the economic front Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani said that a deal to export through the Kurdish-Turkish pipeline is nearly complete. The ministry is also going to truck 200,000 barrels a day of petroleum to Turkey, Syria and Jordan. Kurdistan on the other hand has restarted its own foreign sales of 20,000-40,000 barrels a day to Turkey.
SOURCES
Asharq Al-Awsat, “Strikes Kill Nine Iran-backed Fighters near Iraq-Syria Border," 3/12/26
Bas News, “Iraqi Army Units Targeted by Four Drones in Makhmour, Defense Ministry Says,” 3/12/26
Buratha News, “An airstrike targeted a Popular Mobilization Forces headquarters in Jurf al-Nasr, Babil,” 3/12/26
Kurdistan 24, “Air Defenses Intercept Four Drones Over Erbil Amid Wave of Nighttime Attacks,” 3/12/26
- “Airstrikes Hit PMF Positions in Anbar and Kirkuk, Causing Dozens of Casualties," 3/12/26
- “Erbil Governor Says Air Defenses Intercepted 17 Explosive Drones Targeting Province Overnight," 3/12/26
- “Iraq Cuts Oil Exports Amid Strait of Hormuz Tensions, Seeks Alternative Routes,” 3/12/26
Al Mada, “A Night of Drones in Baghdad: A Confrontation Between al-Sudani and the Factions Neared Explosion,” 3/12/26
- “Sharp Decline in Oil Exports via Kurdistan: Not Exceeding 50,000 Barrels Per Day,” 3/12/26
Rudaw, “Drone attack targets KDPI camp in Erbil province,” 3/12/26
- “Italian base in Erbil hit by missile, no casualties: Defense ministry,” 3/12/26
Salem, Amr, “British base in northern Iraq targeted by Iranian drone swarm,” 3/12/26
Al-Samarraie, Jawad, “Dozens killed in massive airstrikes on PMF in Qaim and Kirkuk,” Iraqi News, 3/12/26
Shafaq News, “Air strikes target Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq and Hezbollah headquarters in Anbar and Salah al-Din,” 3/12/26
- “A drone targeted the radar at the Majnoon oil field in Basra,” 3/12/26
- “A drone was shot down near Baghdad International Airport," 3/12/26
- “Four killed and wounded from the Popular Mobilization Forces in the bombing of Camp Saqr in Baghdad,” 3/12/26
- “The Iraqi resistance announces targeting a second American KC-135 aircraft in the west of the country,” 3/12/26
- “A new missile attack targets the vicinity of Camp Saqr in Baghdad,” 3/12/26
Al Sumaria, “The Popular Mobilization Forces: 32 US strikes targeted our official headquarters … and 27 martyrs are the toll of the March attacks,” 3/12/26
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