WATCH: Shia militia’s weapon depot explodes in southern Kirkuk’s Khurmatu

On Saturday, an explosion took place in the disputed town of Khurmatu in Iraq’s Salahuddin province with casualties being reported, local sources said.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An explosion occurred on Saturday in the disputed town of Khurmatu in Iraq’s Salahuddin province, with casualties being reported according to local sources.

“The explosion happened inside a weapons depot belonging to the Hashd al-Shaabi’s Hezbollah office, near the Khrumatu Police Directorate building,” Mala Karim Shkur, the head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) office in Khurmatu, told Kurdistan 24.

He affirmed there were casualties as some have been transferred to a nearby hospital.

Fifteen people have been wounded, according to a health source from Khurmatu hospital.

It was yet unclear why and how the weapons cache blew up, sources close to the site of the explosion told Kurdistan 24.

“There are two rumors. One claims an aircraft targeted the weapons depot. The other claims a fire erupted in the storage room,” a source said.

Khurmatu is one of the disputed territories between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal government of Iraq. Since Oct. 16 of last year, the town has been under the control of Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shia militias.

Editing by Nadia Riva