The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has strongly condemned the United States’ latest military aggression against Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), commonly known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha’abi, saying Iraqis reserve the right to retaliate such a “crime.”

The PMU on Sunday confirmed that US forces in Iraq have carried out an airstrike on a number of its facilities in the western Anbar Province, which led to the killing of nearly 30 people and injuring of over 50 others.

In a statement on Monday, the IRGC said, “The airstrikes by the American terrorists on Hashd al-Sha’abi bases … constitute a violation of the national sovereignty of this country (Iraq) and once again show that the US is the main factor behind insecurity, chaos, tension and warmongering in this region.”

Iran’s IRGC emphasized that no “free and independent nation” would tolerate that its youths become targets of foreign forces’ aggression and lust for crime, adding, “Naturally, the brave people and heroic Hashd al-Sha’bi forces of Iraq reserve the right to retaliate and give [proportionate] response to the recent ‘big crime of Americans according to international laws and conventions.”

The US attack came after American officials said on Friday that a “US contractor” had been killed.