Explosion at weapons depot near Baghdad wounds 12 Iraqi security forces

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A dozen members of Iraq’s security forces were injured following an explosion at a weapons depot at a military camp near the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the Iraqi army said on Monday.

Iraq’s Interior Ministry Spokesperson Saad Maan said in a statement that the blast happened at the logistic support camp of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) training center in southwest Baghdad.

“The incident resulted in the injury of an officer, six members of the EOD training center, four federal policemen, and one member of the rapid reaction forces,” Maan stated, adding that an investigation was underway.

Xinhua cited an anonymous source who said the explosion occurred at a warehouse, which “provides logistical support to the Hashd al-Shaabi brigades,” a Shia-dominated, Iran-backed militia group in Iraq.

The cause of the explosion is unknown.

Explosions at weapons depots belonging to the Hashd al-Shaabi have caused casualties in the past.

On Aug. 12, a powerful explosion at a weapon warehouse run by the Shia-dominated militias in Baghdad killed one person and wounded 29 others. The warehouse was located inside a federal police base in the Doura district, southern Baghdad.  

Days later, on Aug. 20, a series of blasts hit another Hashd al-Shaabi weapons depot close to the Balad airbase, which houses American and coalition trainers.

Videos posted on social media showed a large cloud of smoke forming from the site of the incident as a fire continued to rage at the base, fueled further by successive blasts.

Witnesses also reported rockets flying off in other directions with some landing at Balad airbase.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi has since issued a set of decisions, including the transfer of all armament storage facilities out of cities and tightening security measures in the country’s airspace.