The attacks came as the United States and Israel launched a campaign against Iran, which retaliated with a barrage of missiles targeting US bases in Gulf states and Israel.

Despite warning that it did not want to be dragged into the war, Iraq did not remain unscathed.

It closed its airspace but warplanes and missiles were seen flying over several areas.

The Iraqi government's security media cell announced that "at 7:25 pm (1625 GMT), the Jurf al-Nasr area... was targeted by two air strikes."

That followed a strike earlier in the day that killed two Kataeb Hezbollah members.

The Jurf al-Sakher base, also known as Jurf al-Nasr, in southern Iraq belongs to the Hashed al-Shaabi or the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a former paramilitary group now integrated into the regular army.

But the largest contingent on the base is made up of members of the US-blacklisted Kataeb Hezbollah.

While Iraqi authorities did not accuse any side, Kataeb Hezbollah warned in a statement following the first strike that it would "soon begin attacking American bases in response to their aggression".

Soon after, Kurdish security forces said US-led coalition forces downed several missiles and explosive-laden drones over the city of Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region.

AFP journalists said that explosions were heard in Erbil, which hosts a US consulate and American troops, throughout the day.

The US embassy in Iraq urged its nationals to limit movement and be ready to shelter after "reports of missiles, drones, or rockets in Iraqi airspace."

It added that the embassy in Baghdad and the consulate in Erbil remain open, but "are limiting movements to critical operations".

- Warning -

Sabah al-Numan, the military spokesman for the Iraqi prime minister, said that Baghdad "condemned the unjustified aggression against the Islamic republic", and "warned of the consequences of the blatant aggression" against Iraqi sites.

Numan warned against using Iraq's airspace and territory "as a corridor or launching point for aggression against Iran".

Iraq "equally rejects the use of its land or territorial waters as a means of dragging the country into the conflict", he added.

The Iraqi News Agency (INA) quoted a "senior source" as saying that the US told Baghdad that it wants to keep Iraq out of the ongoing war.

In Baghdad, several hundred people protested against the US-Israeli strikes near Baghdad's Green Zone, where the US embassy is located.

They waved Iranian, Iraqi and pro-Iran armed group flags and chanted slogans such as "death to Israel", "death to America" and "for you Khamenei", referring to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

- 'Immense losses' -

Kataeb Hezbollah and other pro-Iran factions have brigades that operate within the Hashed al-Shaabi.

They are also part of the Iran-backed, so-called "axis of resistance" and have a reputation for acting on their own.

Kataeb Hezbollah warned the US again on Saturday of a "long war of attrition."

Other groups also joined the call to stand with the Islamic republic.

The Tehran-backed Iraqi groups did not intervene during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last June.

For months during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, these groups carried out attacks against US troops in the region and mostly failed attempts against Israel.

Under mounting US and domestic pressure, these attacks came to a halt, while pressure on the groups to disarm has grown.

The recent flare-up has also impacted the Kurdistan region's gas supply.

Kurdistan's electricity and natural resources ministries said that "to protect employees at the Khor Mor field, Dana Gas has suspended natural gas exports to power plants" in the region.

The Khor Mor complex, which supplies most of Kurdistan's power stations and is run by the Emirati firm Dana Gas, has been hit several times in recent years in attacks blamed on pro-Iran Iraqi groups.