Powerful explosion occurred at military base in Iraq - Reuters

Near Baghdad, a strong explosion occurred at a military base used by the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, according to Reuters.

It is noted that the explosion was quite powerful, and the incident occurred late on Friday.

Reuters, citing military sources, reports that the military base where the explosion occurred is used by Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

"The two security sources said the blast was a result of an unknown airstrike, which happened around midnight Friday. The two PMF sources pointed out the strikes did not lead to casualties but caused material damage," Reuters reports.

In addition, PMF representatives told the agency that the strikes targeted the PMF headquarters at the Kalso military base near the city of Iskandariya, about 50 km south of Baghdad.

AFP, however, quotes a source in the Iraqi Interior Ministry as saying that one person was killed and eight others were injured in the explosion.

"One said killed in bombing of Iraqi military base used by pro-Iran militias," the Times of Israel reports.

PMF's ties to Tehran

It is worth adding that the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) are often associated with Iranian proxies.

Earlier, it was reported that the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) are a coalition of militias nominally under the control of the Iraqi military. Last winter, this organization announced in a statement that its deputy head of operations in Baghdad, Mushtaq Taleb al-Saadi, also known as Abu Taqwa, was killed as a result of brutal American aggression.

What preceded this

Earlier, in early January, it became known that after a series of attacks on American forces in the Middle East, the US military carried out an airstrike in Baghdad. In particular, they targeted a high-ranking commander of the Iraqi militia, whom they accused of attacks on US forces in the country.

It was also reported earlier that in response to other attacks on their military bases in the Middle East, US forces struck two targets in Syria belonging to Iran.

Additionally, in November of last year, the US conducted airstrikes in response to an attack on the Al-Asad airbase in Iraq and eliminated between five and eight militants.