VIDEO: Three Peshmerga wounded in ammunition depot blast in Erbil

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Three Peshmerga soldiers were lightly wounded in a blast at the Zeravani Peshmerga building in Erbil on Saturday.  

An electricity generator at the Zeravani Peshmerga office caught on fire on Saturday and spread to an ammunition depot, sparking a loud blast and injuring three Peshmerga as well as damaging parts of the building.

In a press conference at the site of the explosion, Nawzad Hadi, the Governor of Erbil, assured the people the incident was not an attack, and that the fire was quickly under control.

The Command of Zeravani Peshmerga in a statement also affirmed the explosion was managed and was not the result of terrorist activity.

“A fire that broke out in the building led to the explosion of some recovered mortar shells stored in the weapons depot, which wounded three Peshmerga who were guarding the area,” the statement said. 

According to officials, some of the ammunition and bombs stored in the depot had been seized from Islamic State (IS) extremists and dismantled at the front lines.

Saman Barzinji, the Director of Erbil Health Directorate, confirmed the three Peshmerga officers suffered minor injuries and were transferred to the hospital.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany and G.H. Renaud