What has Happened: Yesterday, a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad killed Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, who was deputy head of operations for the Popular Mobilization Force (PMF), a network of Iran-backed militia groups. Since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7th, there have been over 100 attacks on U.S. and allied forces in Iraq and Syria by Iran-backed militia forces. Iraq’s prime minister, who had the backing of Iran-aligned factions and militias when elected, called the attack “unjustified” and a “dangerous escalation and a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.” On Tuesday, as reported in our previous SITREP, a suspected ... Academy SITREP – U.S. Drone Strike Kills Iran-Backed Militia Leader in Baghdad