BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug 21 (NNN-NINA) – A huge explosion at an ammunition depot occurred on Tuesday, at a paramilitary Hashd Shaabi camp, near an air base in Iraq’s central province of Salahudin.
At least two Hashd Shaabi members were killed and five others wounded by the explosion, that occurred near Balad Air Base, some 80 km north of the capital Baghdad, Munaf al-Khazraji from the federal police said.
The explosion was followed by many other explosions at the camp, which is said to belong to Hezbollah Shiite militia, according to al-Khazraji.
It was not immediately clear what caused the blast, but it triggered stored rockets that landed into the nearby Balad air base, where U.S. military personnel and experts are stationed, al-Khazraji said.
Last week, one person was killed and 29 others wounded when a huge explosion hit an ammunition depot at the Falcon military base in southern Baghdad, where Hashd Shaabi members are also stationed alongside Iraq’s federal police units.
The explosion prompted Iraqi Prime Minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, who is also commander-in-chief of Iraqi forces, to order that all military flights, including reconnaissance aircraft be prohibited from using Iraqi airspace without his permission, in addition to the relocation of all ammunition depots, including those of the Hashd Shaabi units, to areas outside the cities.– NNN-NINA
