Blast at Iraq weapons depot injures 13, cause unclear

By

The Associated Press

An Iraqi flag patched on the ammunition belt of a member of the Iraqi forces is seen June 19, 2017, during an offensive to retake the last district still held by the Islamic State group fighters in Mosul. (Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images)

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s interior ministry says a large explosion at an ammunition depot southwest of the capital, Baghdad, has injured 13 people, most lightly.

Maj. Gen. Saad Maan, a ministry spokesman, said it was not immediately clear what caused the blast at the al-Saqr military base.

The explosion was heard throughout the city and smoke billowed in the air Monday evening.

The base houses a weapons depot for the Iraqi federal police and the mainly Shiite militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces. The state-sanctioned PMF militias, which also receive backing from Iran, have fought alongside Iraq’s regular armed forces against the Islamic State group.