Five blasts at a pro-Iranian military base in Iraq on Saturday resulted in at least three injuries, according to CNN, which cited a security official. The cause of the explosions is unknown at this time, though.
Notably, the explosions occurred at a location associated with the Popular Mobilisation Units (PMU), according to Muhannad al-Anazi, a Security Committee member in the Babylon Governorate, which is located south of Baghdad.
Launched “at the Kalsu military base in the Al-Mashrou district on the highway, north of the Babylon Governorate,” the bombings are currently being investigated.
The explosion occurred one day after an allegedly Israeli-led military operation on Iran, according to US and Israeli sources.
Known alternatively as the Popular Mobilization Forces, the PMU is an Iraqi paramilitary group that is mostly supported by Shiite Iran. The PMU, in contrast to other Iran-backed organizations in the area, is affiliated with the local administration and has strong ties to Shiite blocs in Iran that have dominated Iraqi politics for a long time, according to CNN.
The explosion occurred during a period of intense tension in the Middle East as Israel fights Hamas in Gaza following the terrorist organization’s deadly assault into southern Israel on October 7, which was sponsored by Iran.
This month’s tit-for-tat strikes have also exposed Israel and Iran’s long-running covert conflict. Israel launched a potentially deadly military strike on Iran early on Friday, a US official told CNN. Although no significant damage was recorded, Iran and Israel have not stated where the strike originated.
Iran’s air defence systems were activated in several locations after multiple explosions were heard close to the airport and an army base in the Iranian city of Isfahan, state media reported early Friday morning.
The missile launches come after Iran launched an offensive on targets around Israel on Saturday last week, according to Israeli military authorities, in which the nation fired a barrage of over 300 unmanned drones and missiles.