At least four people were killed and several others wounded in an explosion at a base formerly owned by a paramilitary group in Babylon province, south of Baghdad, security sources and a pro-Iranian official said Tuesday.
“The death toll has risen to four, who were members of the Hashed group,” said an official from the Hashed al-Shaabi alliance, a pro-Iran paramilitary group that has now integrated with the government army.
The official said the explosion was caused by an “airstrike in which four or five missiles hit the base.”
On July 18, an explosion hit a Hashed “logistics” warehouse south of Baghdad, and last April, one person was killed and eight wounded in an explosion at a military base housing Hashed groups in Babylon province.
Hashed al-Shaabi is an integral part of the Iraqi security apparatus under the prime minister's rule.
The Hashed includes several pro-Iranian groups that have carried out dozens of attacks on US forces in Iraq and neighboring Syria.
The group has also been repeatedly targeted in attacks by US forces.
The latest explosion came after two drone launched last week toward an Iraqi military base used by US-led forces. The incident caused no damage.
For more than three months, amid rising tensions in the Middle East due to the war in Gaza, US troops in the region have been the target of attacks using rockets and drone more than 175 times. The majority of attacks took place in Iraq and Syria. (ns/uh/rs)
