Explosions hit two Iran-backed Iraqi militia sites near Baghdad

Explosions hit two sites near the Iraqi capital Baghdad belonging to an Iran-linked militia group on Thursday, security sources said.

The blasts took place in separate residential areas and affected a militia part of the Popular Mobilisation Forces, a network of Iran-backed armed factions brought into Iraq's state security apparatus.

Sources quoted by Iraqi media said: "Explosions and fires... impacted the headquarters of the Al-Nujaba militia".

The first explosion took place in the Jurf Al-Naddaf area south of Baghdad, while the second took place in the Tarmiyah area, north of the capital, the sources said.

PMF-affiliated news channels on Telegram said an explosion and fire at a site south of Baghdad led to an "electrical short", injuring five people.

It comes just days after a similar explosion at an arms depot in Najaf province belonging to the Saraya Al-Salam militia, which is linked to Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr.

Sadr recently hit headlines after his supporters occupied Baghdad's parliament twice within just days.

The Shia Muslim leader has urged Iraq's parliament to be dissolved "by the end of next week", or "the revolutionaries will take another stance".

He did not indicate what this would mean.

Blasts at depots and other sites containing ammunition are common during Iraq's hot summers, when temperatures often exceed 50 degrees Celsius.

Israel and the US have also launched strikes on militia bases in Iraq on occasion.