The story: Iraqi media outlets associated with the Iran-led 'Axis of Resistance' push back against accusations of Popular Mobilization Units’ (PMU) complicity in Monday’s rocket attack. The accusations have been made by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). The media and political responses in the aftermath of the Feb. 15 incident could severely impact Baghdad-Erbil talks on the federal budget draft.

The coverage: On Feb. 17, Al-Ahad, a channel with Asa'ib Ahl Al-Haq, published a report on its website criticizing the absence of coordination between the US-led Coalition forces, the Iraqi federal government, and Kurdish authorities...