Iraq in March 2026: the most important developments in security
Iraq in March 2026 was the target of repeated drone, missile and air attacks during the wider war involving Iran, the United States and Israel. The most reported event was the crash of a US Air Force KC-135 refueling aircraft in western Iraq on 12 and 13 March. US Central Command said there was no indication of hostile fire, while Iran's Revolutionary Guard and an Iraqi armed group claimed to have shot the plane down. Six crew members died, and the Pentagon identified them on 15 March.
US and allied sites were hit throughout the month. The US embassy compound in Baghdad was attacked on 11, 14, 17 and 18 March, with damage to a helipad and a satellite communications system and a fire on 17 March; the embassy urged Americans to leave Iraq. Bases near Erbil were struck repeatedly. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of armed factions, claimed 27 operations on 3 March and 23 attacks in one day on 25 March. A French soldier was killed by a drone in Iraqi Kurdistan. Italy withdrew troops from Erbil, Spain moved a contingent to Kuwait, and NATO relocated its Iraq mission troops to Europe on 20 March.
From 5 March, Iran's Revolutionary Guard struck the headquarters of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in Iraqi Kurdistan, saying it targeted what it calls anti-Iranian terrorist groups. Iran's armed forces warned they would 'crush' the region if it cooperated with the US or Israel. The Kurdistan Democratic Party denied reports of a ground offensive into Iran. On 24 March a rocket attack killed six Peshmerga fighters.
Airstrikes also hit the Popular Mobilization Forces and Iraqi army sites, killing at least 30 people at a headquarters on 12 March, 15 people including a commander on 23 and 24 March, and seven soldiers at a base in Anbar on 25 March. Mohammed Shia al-Sudani called the attacks on the group a violation of Iraq's sovereignty, and the government authorized it to respond. Gulf states demanded that Iraq stop attacks by Iran-aligned groups from its territory.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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