iraqi military personnel receive treatment at a hospital in Hilla in the central province of Babylon after they were wounded in an alleged bombing overnight on an iraqi military base housing a coalition of pro-Iranian armed groups, on April 20, 2024. (Photo by Karar Jabbar / AFP)
Baghdad: Several people were wounded in a "bombing" overnight on an Iraqi military base housing a coalition of pro-Iranian armed groups, two security sources said early Saturday.
The explosion hit the Calso military base in Babylon province south of Baghdad, according to an interior ministry source and a military official.
The ministry of interior official said the "aerial bombing" had killed one person and wounded eight others, while the military source reported three Iraqi military personnel had been wounded in a strike.
Responding to questions from AFP, the security sources would not identify who was responsible, or say whether it had been a drone strike.
"The explosion hit equipment, weapons and vehicles," said the ministry source.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Shortly after the explosion, the US military said its forces were not behind a reported strike in Iraq.
"The United States has not conducted air strikes in Iraq today," US Central Command (CENTCOM) posted on social media platform X, adding that reports that American forces had carried out a strike were "not true."
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.
