Iraqi shepherd from Karbala killed in Najaf desert airstrike

2026-03-06 - 14:04

Shafaq News- Najaf/ Karbala A shepherd from south-central Iraq’s Karbala province was found dead in the desert of neighboring Najaf on Friday after disappearing while grazing livestock, a security source told Shafaq News. The man, from the Ain al-Tamr district, lost contact with his family two days earlier while tending sheep in the Shanana area of southwestern Iraq’s Najaf desert. Initial information, according to the source, indicates that a US airstrike hit his vehicle in the area, setting it on fire and killing him. The body was transferred to the forensic medicine department to complete legal procedures. The discovery follows conflicting reports of a foreign airborne deployment in the desert corridor between Karbala and Najaf, where an Iraqi patrol later came under aerial fire during a reconnaissance mission, leaving one soldier dead and two others wounded. Iraq’s deputy commander of the Joint Operations Command, Lt. Gen. Qais al-Mohammadawi, confirmed that US forces conducted an airborne landing in Najaf province, describing the move as “uncoordinated and unauthorized” and indicating that the unit landed in a desert area to assist another force involved in reconnaissance or equipment installation.