A drone strike caused a massive explosion last week at a munitions depot run by an Iranian-backed militia near Iraq's capital, Baghdad, according to an Iraqi government report obtained Wednesday.
The document shows that a government investigation concluded a drone had set off the blast.
The finding deepens the question of who is behind a string of at least four mysterious explosions that have hit militia bases in Iraq over the past month. Speculation among media and officials has ranged among a number of possible perpetrators, including Israel, Islamic State militants or rival Iraqi factions.
The Associated Press on Wednesday obtained the report outlining the conclusions of a fact-finding committee ordered by the government to investigate the Aug. 12 explosion at the al-Saqr military base.
It said the blast was caused by a drone strike that sparked a huge fire and ruled out earlier suggestions that it was caused by an electrical short circuit or faulty storage of munitions.
The report did not say who the drone belonged to.
The blast at al-Saqr, or "Falcon," base killed one civilian, wounded 28 and damaged nearby homes, echoing across Baghdad. The base houses a weapons depot for the Iraqi federal police and the mainly Shiite militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces. The state-sanctioned militias, most of which receive backing from Iran, have fought alongside Iraq's regular armed forces against the Islamic State group.
Al-Saqr was among four explosions that hit militia bases and munitions depots the past month, including one on July 19 that killed two Iranians.
Following a national security meeting last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi ordered a ban on all military flights throughout the country, unless specifically authorized by the Defense Ministry.
The blasts have given rise to a host of theories, including that Israel may be behind them. However, neither the Iraqi government nor Israel have formally addressed the reports.
If Israel did carry out the bombings, it would be an expansion of its campaign against Iran's spreading influence in the region. Israel has struck Iranian bases in neighboring Syria on numerous occasions, but it is not known to have done so in Iraq.
Asked about the mounting speculation that Israel was striking in Iraq, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said: "Iran has no immunity, anywhere ... We will act — and currently are acting — against them, wherever it is necessary."
He spoke during a visit to Ukraine and was quoted in the Times of Israel.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wednesday will likely be a momentous day for the future of the Federal Reserve as Chair Jerome Powell could signal he will stay with the Fed even as a Senate panel is expected to confirm his replacement.
Powell will preside over what will probably be his last meeting as chair and hold a news conference Wednesday afternoon, when he may say whether he will take the unusual step of remaining on the central bank's board of governors, even after his term as chair ends May 15.
Separately, the Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to vote on the nomination of Kevin Warsh to succeed Powell. The nomination is expected to be approved on a party-line vote, and will then be taken up by the full Senate next month. President Donald Trump nominated Warsh, a former top Fed official, in January. Last year, Warsh echoed Trump's calls for the Fed to lower its key interest rate, leading many Democrats in Congress to question how independently he will operate as Fed chair.
The Fed is widely expected to keep its key rate unchanged Wednesday for a third straight meeting at 3.6%. Most policymakers believe at that level, the rate can still cool inflation by slowing borrowing and spending, but not so much that it will drag down hiring or raise unemployment.
Still, a key issue for the news conference Wednesday is what Powell says, if anything, about his future. Powell serves a separate term as a governor that lasts until January 2028. Chairs typically leave the board when their leadership terms end, but Powell has signaled he could remain. He would be the first chair to do so since 1948.
If Powell, who has made protecting Fed independence a key part of his legacy, chooses to stay, he would deprive Trump of the opportunity to pick his replacement and fill another seat on the Fed’s seven-member board. Three of the seven current governors are Trump appointees.
At the same time, it could worsen tensions with the Trump administration and would create what some analysts refer to as a “two Popes” scenario, with a chair and former chair both on the Fed’s board. In that case, divisions among policymakers could increase, if some decided to follow Powell's lead rather than Warsh's.
Warsh argued for rate cuts last year, but is unlikely to be able to reduce borrowing costs anytime soon, given that most policymakers have signaled they would prefer to wait and evaluate the Iran war’s impact on the economy.
The leadership turmoil comes while the economy remains unusually murky, putting the Fed in a difficult spot. Inflation has jumped to 3.3%, a two-year high, as the war has sharply raised gas prices. That makes it harder for the central bank to reduce rates. The Fed typically leaves rates unchanged, or even raises them, if inflation is worsening.
At the same time, hiring has ground almost to a halt, leaving those without jobs frustrated by the difficulty of finding new ones. Typically, the Fed cuts rates when the job market is weak, to spur more spending and job gains.
But layoffs also remain low, as employers appear to be following a “ low-hire, low-fire ” strategy. Many Fed officials have suggested that as long as the unemployment rate is low, the central bank doesn't need to cut rates to spur more spending and hiring. Unemployment declined to 4.3% in March, from 4.4%.
A key change economists will look for Wednesday is whether the Fed alters the statement it issues after each meeting to signal that it is possible that their next move could be either a rate cut or a hike. Right now, the statement indicates that any change to its rate would be a cut. According to minutes of its last meeting in March, many of the 19 participants on the Fed’s rate-setting committee support considering a hike, though it's likely short of a majority.
Kevin Warsh is sworn in during his nomination hearing to be a member and chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill, in Washington Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
FILE - President Donald Trump listens to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speak during a visit to the Federal Reserve, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
Kevin Warsh testifies during his nomination hearing to be a member and chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill, in Washington Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
FILE - Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell addresses students at Harvard University, March 30, 2026, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
Kevin Warsh testifies during his nomination hearing to be a member and chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill, in Washington Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
