Iraq base bombed

One person was killed and eight others were wounded when an Iraqi military base housing a coalition of pro-Iranian armed groups was bombed overnight, an interior ministry source and a military official said on Saturday.

“The explosion hit equipment, weapons and vehicles,” said the ministry source.

The Iraqi military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject, said the overnight explosion had occurred in “warehouses storing equipment.”

“A fire is still raging and the search for the injured is continuing,” the source said.

An Iraqi security forces media unit said in a statement that air defense command reported “no drones or combat aircraft in the airspace of Babylon province before or during the explosion.”

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack of the Calso military base in Babylon province south of Baghdad.

When reached by Agence France-Presse, the Israeli army said it “does not comment on information published in foreign media.”

The explosion on the Iraqi military base comes amid spiralling regional tensions over the war between Israel and Iran-backed Palestinian militants Hamas.

On Friday, strikes blamed on Israel targeted a military base near the city of Isfahan in central Iran.