Baghdad, Iraq - At least 20 members of an Iraqi former paramilitary alliance were killed in US-Saudi strikes on their bases in the country, alliance sources told AFP.

The US and Saudi Arabia said they had struck militants in Iraq in response to attacks on US forces and Saudi oil facilities.

The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), known as the Hashed al-Shaabi in Arabic, said at least 20 fighters "were martyred and another 32 wounded according to a preliminary toll."

"These attacks resulted in the martyrdom of a number of personnel and injuries to others, as well as material damage to several buildings and properties," the PMF said in a statement.

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A PMF official told AFP that the strikes hit positions belonging to the alliance "across several provinces, with the deadliest attack in Nineveh province, where at least 10 members were martyred."

Injuries were reported in other provinces, he added, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The PMF is an alliance of paramilitaries and factions created in 2014 to fight jihadists, and is now integrated into the Iraqi armed forces.

In a statement on Wednesday, the PMF described the US-Saudi strikes as a "dangerous escalation, a violation of Iraq's sovereignty, and an attack on its official security institutions."

The US-Saudi strikes came after Riyadh said its forces had intercepted drones targeting oil facilities in the east, blaming Iran-backed groups in Iraq.

But these groups described Saudi Arabia's accusations as "fabrications," and warned it against attacking Iraq.

The most active pro-Iran armed groups are united under an alliance known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which has interfered in support of Tehran during the Middle East war, claiming hundreds of attacks against US bases in Iraq and across the region.

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But they have not claimed any attacks since hostilities between the US and Iran resumed earlier this month.

Washington and Tehran are Iraq's main allies, but their enmity has long turned the country into a proxy battleground and left successive governments struggling to maintain a delicate balance between the two.

Amid growing US pressure, Iraq's new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who came to power this year with Washington's blessing, vowed to ensure pro-Iran armed groups would hand over their weapons, but has faced pushback from some powerful factions.

Earlier this month, Zaidi visited both the US and Iran.