“At 7 pm (1600 GMT).. an explosion occurred in logistics warehouses belonging to the 42 Brigade.. in the Yusufiyah area, south of Baghdad,” said the Hashed al-Shaabi -- an alliance of former paramilitary groups now integrated into the regular army.
The cause of the blast was not immediately known, and the Hashed said it assigned a committee to investigate.
Firefighters were battling the blaze, it added in a statement.
A security source confirmed the blast, adding that it “occurred in a warehouse storing equipment that belongs to Hashed al-Shaabi.”
A Hashed official said he did not rule out the possibility of an “airstrike.”
In April, one person was killed and eight wounded in a blast at a military base housing Hashed groups in Babylon province, south of Baghdad.
An investigation found the blast was caused by munitions stored on-site, not by an airstrike.
The Hashed al-Shaabi is an integral part of the Iraqi security apparatus under the authority of the prime minister.
MNA/PR
Your Comment