BAGHDAD, Iraq, Apr 20 ― One particular person was killed and eight wounded in an in a single day explosion at an Iraqi army base housing a coalition of pro-Iranian armed teams, officers mentioned at present.
The explosion hit the Kalsu army base in Babylon province south of Baghdad, the place Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces, or Hashed al-Shaabi, is stationed.
It comes days after Iran launched an unprecedented assault on Israel which reportedly responded with a drone strike on the Islamic republic, amid tensions fuelled by the Gaza battle.
The Iraqi safety forces media unit mentioned “an explosion and a fireplace” hit the Kalsu base within the early hours of at present, leaving one particular person useless and eight wounded.
Air defence command reported “no drones or fight plane within the airspace of Babylon province earlier than or throughout the explosion”, it added in a press release.
An inside ministry official had initially reported an “aerial bombing” on the positioning.
In a press release, Hashed al-Shaabi mentioned an “explosion” had inflicted “materials losses” and casualties, with out giving a quantity.
The group confirmed its premises on the army base had been hit and that investigators had been despatched to the positioning.
There was no quick declare of duty.
Responding to questions from eNM, the safety sources didn’t say who could have been behind the assault.
“The explosion hit tools, weapons and automobiles,” mentioned the inside ministry supply.
Iraqi army personnel obtain remedy at a hospital in Hilla within the central province of Babylon after they had been wounded in an alleged bombing in a single day on an Iraqi army base housing a coalition of pro-Iranian armed teams, on April 20, 2024. ― eNM pic
‘Odious crime’
Shortly after the explosion, the US army mentioned its forces weren’t behind a reported strike in Iraq.
“The United States has not performed air strikes in Iraq at present,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) posted on social media platform X, including that stories that American forces had carried out a strike had been “not true”.
The Iraqi army official, who spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of sensitivity of the topic, mentioned the in a single day explosion had occurred in “warehouses storing tools”.
When reached by eNM, the Israeli army mentioned it “doesn’t touch upon info printed in overseas media”.
The Hashed al-Shaabi is an integral a part of the official Iraqi safety equipment beneath the authority of the prime minister.
It brings collectively a number of pro-Iran armed factions, a few of which have additionally carried out dozens of assaults in Iraq and Syria towards US forces deployed as a part of a global anti-jihadist coalition.
“We will retaliate towards whoever is behind this aggression,” Hashed commander Abu Alaa al-Walai wrote on X, previously Twitter. “Those concerned on this odious crime can pay the value.”
Yesterday, strikes blamed on Israel focused a army base close to town of Isfahan in central Iran.
The explosion got here in response to Tehran’s unprecedented assault on Israel final weekend, in retaliation for a lethal strike on Iran’s embassy in Damascus.
Iraq’s overseas ministry expressed “robust concern” on Friday over the blast in Iran, warning of the “dangers of army escalation which threatens safety and stability within the area.”
“This escalation should not be allowed to divert consideration from what’s taking place within the Gaza Strip,” it mentioned.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani is in Washington, the place he met US President Joe Biden this week. ― eNM
