The Shiite militia of Iraq, which controls parts of Iraqi territory, attested by the Islamic state, has accused the United States and Israel of mysterious explosions in weapons depots throughout the country.
Much of the territory occupied by the Islamic State (also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS) in northern Iraq is currently controlled by the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) which has over 150.000 armed fighters. The PMF supported by Iran has proved decisive in the territorial defeat of ISIS. However, the group's leadership is ideologically aligned with Iran and many of its members will not cooperate with the Iraqi armed forces because they consider them supported by the Americans.
There have been at least three mysterious explosions that have affected PMF-controlled weapons depots throughout Iraq in the past month.
- On July 19, Arab media reported that an explosion killed two Iranian military engineers in a PMF facility.
- On August 12, a massive explosion destroyed part of al-Saqr military base in Baghdad, killing at least one person and injuring 30. Reportedly, the base housed a weapons depot shared by the Shiite-dominated Iraqi federal police and the PMF the two are often indistinguishable in post-ISIS Iraq.
- On August 20 two more explosions were reported in a PMF weapons depot located approximately 55 miles north of Baghdad. It is not known whether someone was killed or injured in the last attack.
Before the explosions of the 20 in August, Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi had banned all unauthorized flights to Iraq in an attempt to prevent further attacks on weapons depots. But the move did not prevent yet another mysterious attack.
There are many rumors that on the instigators of the attacks filmed in recent days in Iraq. Many accuse the United States and Israel, while others accuse ISIS or Iraqi militias in competition with the PMF for control.
According to a report in Iraqi government incidents, the attacks would have been carried out using Israeli drones with the support of American intelligence to weaken Shiite influence in Iraq.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "Iran has no immunity anywhere [...]. We will act and currently act against Iran where necessary ". Meanwhile, the PMF has committed to using "all the means at its disposal to discourage and prevent [future] attacks" on its facilities.