Baghdad (AFP)

A powerful Iraqi paramilitary force, including pro-Iranian groups, said Wednesday it considered the United States responsible for a series of explosions in recent weeks against some of its bases, in a moment of intense tension between Tehran and Washington .

In the past month, explosions have affected four bases of this force, Hashd al-Shaabi, which is made up of pro-Iranian armed groups opposed to the US presence in Iraq.

The media could not access these sites and no claim was made public.

But on Wednesday, the paramilitary force said it conducted its own investigation.

"We announce that US forces are the only entity responsible for what happened, and we will hold them accountable for everything that will happen from now on," she wrote in a statement.

These attacks were carried out by "agents or in special operations with modern aircraft," she said.

"The United States is not involved in the recent explosions," responded a Pentagon spokesman interviewed by AFP.

Hashd al-Shaabi also said that US forces had this year let four Israeli drones enter Iraqi airspace and "target Iraqi military headquarters."

But he did not explicitly accuse Israel of leading the attacks on his bases.

The US-led military coalition is present in Iraq as part of the fight against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.

Also very involved in the war against IS, Hashd al-Shaabi warned that he would consider any foreign plane flying above its bases "unfriendly" without being informed by the government.

- Explosions -

In mid-July, the Iraqi military command reported a drone bombardment of a Hachd al-Shaabi base in central Amerli. An Iraqi fighter was killed and two Iranians wounded.

The United States had immediately indicated that they were not the authors. Hashd al-Shaabi had mentioned a fire caused by a technical error.

Explosions were then reported at a base in Diyala (east), and last week 29 people were injured in the mysterious explosion of a weapons depot at the Saqr military camp south of Baghdad.

In response, Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi had canceled "special authorizations" for the flights of the anti-IS military coalition in Iraqi airspace. He had also ordered an investigation.

On Wednesday, a source in the government said the preliminary results showed three planes had flown around the Saqr base, but no evidence of bombing had been found.

The latest explosion on Tuesday hit a Hachd position near Al-Balad Air Base, where US troops are present. Some 5,200 American soldiers are based in Iraq.

Earlier this summer, a series of rocket attacks targeted bases where American soldiers were stationed, as well as American commercial interests.

The authorities fear for months that tensions between his two great allies - Washington and Tehran - are degenerating on their own soil.

Washington withdrew unilaterally in May 2018 from the agreement limiting the Iranian nuclear program and reinstated sanctions against Tehran.

- Stop Iran -

But analysts say Israel may be involved in attacks on Hashd al-Shaabi.

Israel insists it will stop Iran's "expansionism" in the region, and has struck against Iranian targets in Syria, where Tehran supports the regime. Israel, however, did not claim the attacks in Iraq.

Asked this week about possible involvement of his country, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu repeated that he would act against "Iran whenever necessary".

Israel fears that Iran is transferring rockets by land to its allies in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, which could be used against it.

This fear could explain his possible implication in the attacks in Iraq, estimates the analyst Fadel Abu Raghif.

"We received information about missiles that Iran gave to the Hashd during the Iraq war" against ISIS, he told AFP. "It seems that these rockets have not been used and that Israel has felt a danger," he added.

"Even if there is no evidence, few people would be surprised if Israel decided to target Iranian targets in Iraq because it publicly acknowledged that it was doing so in Syria," he said. AFP geopolitical expert Karim Bitar.

"This strategy is probably coordinated with the United States, as part of the Trump administration's" maximum + pressure "campaign against Iran.

© 2019 AFP