Blast at Iraq army base housing pro-Iranian forces kills 1, injures 8

One person was killed and eight wounded in an explosion and a fire at an Iraqi military base housing pro-Iranian armed groups in the early hours of April 20, said the Iraqi security forces' media unit.

The full details remain unclear hours after the blast hit the Kalsu military base in Babylon province south of Baghdad, where regular army, police and members of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces, or Hashed al-Shaabi, are stationed.

It comes days after Iran launched an unprecedented assault on Israel, which reportedly responded with a drone strike on the Islamic republic, amid tensions fuelled by the Gaza war.

Iraqi air defence command reported "no drones or combat aircraft in the airspace of Babylon province before or during the explosion", it added in a statement.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Shortly after the explosion, the US military said its forces were not behind a reported strike in Iraq.

"The United States has not conducted air strikes in Iraq today," US Central Command posted on X (formerly Twitter), adding that reports that American forces had carried out a strike were "not true".