Two missile attacks killed at least two members of the Iran-aligned Kataib Hezbollah militia and wounded five others in Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad, on February 28, 2026. A third attack later struck the same area without reported casualties.
Iraq’s government confirmed attacks on the town, also known as Jurf al-Nasr, but did not identify who carried them out or provide further operational details. Jurf al-Sakhar lies about 60 kilometres southwest of Baghdad and is controlled by Kataib Hezbollah. The available reporting did not establish the origin of the missiles.
The attacks came shortly after the United States and Israel began strikes against Iran. Their expansion into Iraq raised concern that the country could be drawn into a wider regional war because of its geography, close ties with Tehran and the presence of armed groups aligned with Iran.
Kataib Hezbollah, Al Nujaba and Sayyed Al Shuhada subsequently announced that they would join attacks against US forces. Those militias and smaller allied groups had previously launched drones and missiles at US troops in Iraq and Syria and at targets inside Israel.
Rockets and drones were also reported at US military installations and the US consulate in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. A security official said at least one rocket was intercepted, while the US military did not immediately comment. Kurdish authorities suspended school and university classes until Wednesday.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella organisation for several influential Iran-allied groups, claimed 16 operations involving dozens of drones against what it called enemy bases in Iraq and elsewhere in the region. It did not specify all the targets. Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said security forces intercepted nine drones aimed at military bases in the southern provinces of Nasiriyah and Basra, with no casualties reported.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani chaired a meeting of senior military and security officials after the violence. His government called for an immediate end to military action and a return to diplomacy, rejected attacks on Iran and warned against violations of Iraqi sovereignty. It said Iraqi territory would not be used as a route or launch site for attacks on Iran and pledged not to allow the country to be pulled into the conflict.
Iraq closed its airspace after the US-Israeli operation began, and Iraqi Airways offered refunds for cancelled flights. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Iraqi counterpart, Fuad Hussein, that Iran would continue targeting US bases in the region as part of what Tehran described as self-defence. Hussein replied that war could not resolve the dispute and urged de-escalation.
The deaths at Jurf al-Sakhar became an early sign of how quickly the Iran conflict could activate armed networks inside Iraq and place Baghdad’s non-involvement policy under pressure.
