Iraqi Shia paramilitary fighters killed in United States airstrikes

Iran-backed Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada is part of an umbrella of Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitary groups known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces, which is answerable to Baghdad, but includes factions loyal to Iran's clerical leadership.

According to reports, aside the deaths, 25 were injured and PMU commanders are reportedly among the dead.

"US planes bombed fighters of the Seyid Suheda unit". The wounded have been taken to hospitals in Iraq for treatment. "We strongly condemn this deliberate attack".

For his part, the USA army Colonel Ryan Dillon, spokesman of the global coalition in Iraq, denied in a brief statement the allegations of coalition strikes on the Hashd Shaabi forces near the Iraqi-Syrian border, asserting that the information is "inaccurate". PMU operate jointly with the US-backed coalition to fight Islamic State in Iraq.

Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units, or Hashd al Sha'abi, comprise of some 100,000 fighters who are mostly Shia. In the early days of Daesh's terror campaign, the then-volunteer fighters played a major role in reinforcing the Iraqi army, which had suffered heavy setbacks in the face of lightning advances by the terrorists.

"The intelligence of the Hashd Shaabi command said they have no information about it (shelling on Hashd Shaabi unit), and the Joint Operations Command said that Daesh (IS group) itself used sophisticated cannons and a auto bomb in the attack", Abadi said at a press conference after his weekly cabinet meeting.

"We hold the American army responsible for this act", the militia said in a statement late on Monday, noting that they were targeted with smart rockets.

The US has also bombed militia fighting IS in neighboring Syria. It was the third attack by the coalition on Damascus' allies in the area.