ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – An explosion at an ammunition depot belonging to Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in southern Baghdad left at least five personnel with "minor" injuries, the force said on Saturday evening.

“An explosion of a stockpile of damaged ammunition occurred inside a Popular Mobilization Forces headquarters,” the PMF said in a statement. Five personnel sustained “minor injuries,” it said in a separate statement shortly after.

The depot was located in a residential area in southern Baghdad, according to The New Region’s correspondent, who added that the source of the explosion remains unknown.

A similar explosion rocked another ammunition depot of the PMF in eastern Diyala province in June, causing a fire but no casualties.

In early November 2025, at least one of its members was killed and two others were injured after an explosion inside one of the forces’ offices in Baghdad.

The PMF is an Iraqi state-integrated network of predominantly Shiite armed groups established in 2014 to fight the Islamic State. While formally part of Iraq's security apparatus, several factions maintain close ties to Iran.

Baghdad has renewed efforts to restructure the PMF, consolidate weapons under state control, and reduce the influence of Iran-backed factions within the security framework.