“Bombing” on Iraq military base leaves one dead and wounded

Bagdad. A “bombing” hit a military base in central Iraq that houses army troops and the pro-Iranian group Hashd al Shaabi, former paramilitaries now integrated into the regular forces, two security sources indicated. Interrogated by AFP, a military official and another from the Ministry of the Interior could not point to those responsible for this attack on the Calso base, in the province of Babilonia.

The ministerial official noted that the offensive left “one dead and eight injured.” On his side, the military official reported at least three wounded among the Iraqi army troops.

“Due to the bombing, there were explosions in the warehouses that house the equipment,” explained this official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

“A fire still affects some sectors and the search for injured people continues,” he added. For his part, the ministry source assured that the bombing was directed at Hashd al Shaabi’s armored vehicles. “The explosion affected the material, the weapons, the vehicles,” he said.

The action, which has not been claimed, occurs in an explosive context in the region derived from the war in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, backed by Iran. On Friday, attacks blamed on Israel hit the Iranian region of Isfahan, near a military base.

The previous Saturday, Tehran had launched an unprecedented attack with drones and missiles against Israel, in response to a previous bombing against its consulate in Damascus that had cost the lives of seven Iranian soldiers, including two generals.

The Hashd al Shaabi group is part of Iraq’s official security apparatus, but brings together several pro-Iranian armed factions that have carried out attacks in Iraq and Syria against US soldiers deployed within the framework of an international anti-jihadist coalition.