Five Injured After Baghdad Depot Blast Linked to Chinese Missile Caches

Five people were injured when an explosion struck a Popular Mobilization Forces base in Baghdad’s East Canal area on October 17. The blast damaged a stockpile of obsolete ammunition, according to Asharq Al-Awsat, a London-based Arabic-language newspaper. Iraqi authorities are now investigating the incident, though more than a week has passed without a public update.

The newspaper reported that Iraqi officials suspect Israel struck two locations where Iranian-backed militias stored shoulder-fired air defense systems from China. Sources cited by the outlet said the weapons were supplied by Tehran. The report did not specify which Chinese system was involved and noted that some details remained unconfirmed. One source stated that the armed group considered the storage sites difficult to reach or detect. The strikes allegedly occurred last week, shortly after the shipments arrived.

An anonymous Iraqi security official said authorities had seen enough evidence to believe Israel was responsible for the recent blasts. The official noted that a mid-October incident followed an earlier event on October 1, when warehouses linked to Iran-backed groups were affected. Those warehouses reportedly held drones intended for suicide attacks and reconnaissance missions.

Iranian-backed militias have blamed Israel for previous strikes, including incidents in 2019 and a recent attack near the Syrian border in Albukamal. In May, The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel established a secret airstrip in Iraq during its campaign against Iran. Other unconfirmed accounts suggest Israeli fighter jets have flown through Iraqi airspace near the Iranian border with the support of midair refuelers.

The tension builds on years of Iran arming Iraqi militias with missiles and drones. These groups have conducted more than 1,000 strikes on the Kurdistan Region and 600 attacks across Iraq since the US and Israel began airstrikes in February. Some of these attacks targeted US diplomatic sites. The US withdrew its forces from Iraq on September 30, a deadline agreed upon with Baghdad.

A source in the Shi'ite Coordination Framework said ruling party leaders have spent weeks predicting that renewed war between Washington and Tehran would begin with the destruction of Iraqi factions' capabilities. Most major PMF groups, except the Badr Organization, are sanctioned by the US as terrorist organizations. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of these militias, recently published a statement claiming Iraqi airspace was being violated.

China’s Foreign Ministry denied reports on July 28 that Beijing was supplying weapons to Iran. Asharq Al-Awsat linked those reports to the movement of similar systems to Iraq, though it described that connection as unconfirmed. The newspaper concluded that the recent strikes signal a new round of conflict, with the original incidents dating to early and mid-October.