ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Several massive sounds of explosions were heard at a military base belonging to the Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) near capital city Baghdad on Monday afternoon.

Initial reports suggested that the explosions were caused due to an airstrike, but the Iraqi ministry of the interior immediately dismissed the claims.

“While we deny this news, we confirm that the incident was a fire that broke out from bushes in the area, which later led to the burning of some of the equipment that was there,” read the interior ministry statement.

It added that “the incident was controlled without any significant human losses.”

The PMF base is located between Al-Suwaira and Al-Azizia area, Wasit province, close to Baghdad.

“The situation is ambiguous,” a security source in Wasit province told The New Region on the condition of anonymity. “Until now, we do not know whether it was a fire or a bombing.”

He described the interior ministry’s immediate statement regarding the explosions as being “weak” while claiming they “had no details.”