![People gather around the incident site as security forces cordon the area after a road-side parked car-bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq on 30 May, 2017 [Visam Ziyad Muhammed/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/20170530_2_23956020_22654868.jpg?fit=920%2C613&ssl=1)
A large fire broke out on Monday at a weapons depot run by an Iraqi militia group, causing explosions heard across Baghdad, killing one person and injuring 29 others, authorities said, Reuters reports.
The depot, run by a militia group under the umbrella of the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces, was located inside a federal police base in the southern suburbs of Baghdad.
The facility stored short-range and Katyusha missiles, a security source told Reuters.
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The fire set off some of the rockets which struck neighbourhoods several kilometres (miles) away and injuring mainly children, said Qasim al-Attabi, a spokesman for the district’s health directorate.
Health Ministry spokesman Saif Badr said most of the wounded were discharged from area hospitals with light wounds.
A police source said the fire was probably caused by negligence leading to poor storage conditions and high temperatures. The Interior Ministry ordered an investigation.
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