There is fresh intelligence of a potential Iranian threat against US forces and interests in the Middle East, according to several US defense and administration officials.

In recent months, a series of strikes in Iraq have been attributed to Israel, some of them near the Syria-Iraq border and the Al-Bukamal-Qaim crossing.

Three Kurdish Peshmerga forces were killed repelling an Islamic State attack late Wednesday night in a disputed town in the Iraqi province of Diyala.