"This evening, IS [DAESH] militants carried out an attack on a bus, which carrying pilgrims from Iran, near Balad. As a result, seven Iranian pilgrims were injured, along with one Iraqi pilgrim", the paramilitary forces said in a statement, published on their official website late on Sunday.
On Sunday, the bus, which was carrying pilgrims to a Shiite mausoleum in Balad, struck a roadside bomb south of the city. It was initially reported that some of the pilgrims were killed.
The PMF is an official umbrella entity reportedly composed of up to 40 various militant groups united under the aegis of Iraq's Interior Ministry. The force was created in a bid to unite militants' efforts to drive Daesh out of country.
Then-Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi issued a decree in early 2018 including the PMF into the country's armed forces.
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A December announcement by US President Donald Trump that all US troops deployed in Syria would be coming home — and reports of plans to cut the US Afghan deployment in half — has prompted effort by Trump's inner circle and Republicans in Congress to delay any withdrawal.
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Meanwhile, the Iraqi lawmakers will work on drafting a law that would terminate the security agreement with the United States, thus, ending the presence of the US and other foreign military advisers in the country, Iraqi First Deputy Speaker Hassan Karim Kaabi said on Sunday.
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries.
