Symbolic funeral in Baghdad after U.S. strike
Waving Iraqi and PMF flags, fighters stood in ranks on Tuesday (June 29) as the crowd waited for the arrival of coffins draped in Iraqi flags and then carried through the crowd.
On Monday (June 28), the Iraqi government condemned the U.S. air raid against Iran-aligned fighters along its border with Syria and said it would "study all legal options" to prevent such action, which it called a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, of being repeated.
It was a rare criticism of U.S. action by the government of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who is seen as friendly to the United States and has tried to check the power of Iran-aligned militias.
Several PMF members and protesters who spoke to Reuters during the funeral said they are demanding the total withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, where it still has about 2,500 forces.
The Iran-aligned factions, which are the most powerful in the PMF, have since Islamic State's defeat in 2017 expanded their military, political and economic power and attacked bases housing the remaining U.S. forces in Iraq.
