One killed, four wounded as obsolete ammunition explodes at Baghdad paramilitary HQ

An explosion at a headquarters of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) in eastern Baghdad killed one member of the paramilitary group and wounded four others on Saturday, according to a security and a medical source cited by Reuters and Arab News.

The PMF said a stockpile of obsolete ammunition detonated at the facility, east of the Army Canal, sparking a fire that has since been brought under control. Iraq’s prime minister, Ali Al-Zaidi, has ordered an investigation into the blast, according to an official statement reported by Arab News.

The PMF, known in Arabic as Hashd al-Shaabi, is an umbrella group of mostly Shi’ite paramilitary factions that has been formally integrated into Iraq’s state security forces, and includes several groups aligned with Iran.

Shafaq News reported that the PMF’s media office initially said no casualties had been recorded, before a security source told the outlet four members were injured. A later Shafaq update said five members sustained minor injuries and that specialised committees had begun investigating the circumstances and cause.

It is the second explosion involving armed-group ammunition in Baghdad this month. On 1 October, munitions stored at a site belonging to an armed faction exploded in the capital’s southern Dora district without causing casualties, according to a security source.

Sources: Reuters, Arab News, Shafaq News, Arab Times Online