At least one killed as PMF weapons depot explodes in Iraq's Karbala

At least one person was killed and 19 injured when an ammunition depot belonging to the Popular Mobilisation Forces militia exploded in the central Iraqi province of Karbala on Monday.

The blast is reportedly the tenth of its kind in two months, due to soaring summer temperatures and poor storage.

A security officer told The New Arab's correspondent: "A member of the Popular Mobilisation Forces was killed and 19 others wounded in an explosion at a large storage facility of weapons and ammunition belonging to the al-Abbas militia of the PMF in the al-Husseiniya district area of Karbala province".

The al-Abbas militia is a faction of the wider PMF, a group of pro-government Shia militias who rose to prominence during the country's fight against the Islamic State group.

The officer added the explosion "caused rockets to fall on several residential areas in the vicinity of the warehouse". He also said the area has since been closed off and an investigation is being launched.

Colonel Abdul Ali Jawad, a member of Karbala's police force told The New Arab: "The explosion was caused by poor storage and high temperatures," adding the casualties were taken to the local state hospital.

Popular protests have swept streets across Baghdad, with many Iraqis angered at sky-high unemployment, widespread corruption and shortages of necessities such as water and electricity.

The demonstrators are also angry at the increased powers of the PMF, who are now officially part of the Iraqi armed forces.

The PMF and its constituent militias often only follow the orders of their own local commanders, or Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), completely undermining the prime minister's role as commander-in-chief.

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