Iraq takes security measures following weapons depot blast
AP, Thursday 15 Aug 2019


Iraq is ordering all military camps and munitions warehouses to be moved outside Iraqi cities following a massive explosion at an ammunition depot that killed one civilian and wounded 13.

In a statement issued Thursday following a national security meeting, Iraq's prime minister also ordered the cancellation of all aviation approvals for flights throughout the country, including reconnaissance, drones, jets and helicopters _ unless authorized by the commander of the armed forces.

Monday night's explosion at a military base southwest of Baghdad shook the Iraqi capital and sent explosives and mortar shooting up the sky, damaging nearby homes and killing one person.

The federal police base houses a weapons depot belonging to a militia group under the umbrella of the mainly Iran-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces.

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