At least 16 people were killed and dozens injured after an arms depot exploded in the Sadr City district of the Iraqi capital today, security and medical sources said. “An arms depot exploded... The security forces have opened an inquiry to determine the cause,” Baghdad’s security operations command said in a statement.
A senior police source said on condition of anonymity that the blast was caused by heavy weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades and shells, belonging to an armed group and stored in a house. He said at least 16 people were killed and some 32 injured in the explosion. Medical sources confirmed the toll and said that women and children were found among the victims.
Sources said the blast struck near a Shiite mosque in the district of northeast Baghdad. Witnesses reported heavy material damage to homes and other buildings in the Sadr City district, which is a stronghold of populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr.
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.