File image.
A suspicious blast rocked on July 18 an ammunition depot of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) near the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
In a statement, the force said that the blast occurred early in the evening at logistical support depots of the 42nd Hashd Shaabi Brigade in the Yusufiyah area, south of Baghdad. It added that the incident did not cause human casualties, stressing that a committee was formed to investigate the reasons behind the incident.
Several video footage of the blast and secondary explosives were posted to social networks, with some showing what appears to be a small drone flying over the ammunition depot. This led to speculations that the blast was the result of a sabotage act. The PMF is yet to confirm this, however.
The PMF was formed by Iran-backed armed factions in Iraq to fight ISIS in 2014. Four years later, the Iraqi government fully reorganized the group.
The force is said to be affiliated with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), which surfaced after the start of the Israeli war on the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip last October and began launching attacks against targets in Israel as well as United States bases in Iraq and neighboring Syria.
The blast at the PMF ammunition depot came just two days after a drone attack that targeted Ain al-Asad Air Base in the western Iraqi province of al-Anbar, where American troops are known to be deployed.
Two suicide drones attacked Ain al-Asad at the time, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh confirmed on July 18, claiming that one of the drones was successfully destroyed, while the other caused minor damage to the base.
The drone attack, which was the second to target American forces in Iraq since February, was unofficially blamed on the IRI.
The group suspended attacks against U.S. forces around five months ago after the death of three American troops in a drone strike on a base in Jordan, reportedly upon a request from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. However, it escalated attacks against Israel starting from March.
The blast at the PMF ammunition depot may have been orchestrated by either the U.S. or Israel, in response to recent attacks by the IRI. If true, this could lead to an escalation in Iraq.
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the jews of course!
it’s hot here in belgrade, serbia (40 degrees centigrade) and i suppose it’s even hotter in baghdad