An explosion at an Iraqi military base housing former pro-Iranian paramilitaries last weekend was caused by on-site munitions detonating, not an airstrike, according to an investigative committee’s Tuesday statement.
The incident at Kalsu base in Babylon province on Friday night killed one person and injured eight others.
Initial reports blamed an “aerial bombing,” but authorities have now definitively ruled out a drone or airstrike.
The base housed units from the Iraqi army, the Interior Ministry, and the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), also known as Hashed al-Shaabi. Investigators found a large crater at the site, “used to store materiel, missiles and explosive materials,” the committee’s statement revealed.
Analysis of soil and materials confirmed “a very strong explosion of weaponry and high explosive materials present at the site.”
The presence of TNT, ammonium nitrate, and dibutyl phthalate, key components in explosives and missiles, further solidified this conclusion.
The committee emphasized that the blast’s intensity and the scattering of armaments “could not have been caused by one or multiple airborne missiles under any circumstances.”
Additionally, Iraq’s air force confirmed no aircraft or drones were active in the area during the incident. The US military’s CENTCOM and the Israeli military both denied involvement.
The PMF, now integrated into Iraq’s security forces, includes factions responsible for recent attacks against US troops in Iraq and Syria.
While the cause of the explosion remains unclear, the incident underscores the volatile situation within Iraq and the potential for accidental detonations at military bases.
