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.
A Ukrainian drone attack in southwestern Russia killed two people and parts of Ukraine went without power following Russian assaults on energy infrastructure, authorities said Saturday, as U.S.-led peace talks gain momentum.
Foreign policy advisers from the U.S., Ukraine and Germany, among others, will meet in Berlin on Sunday, German news agency dpa reported. Germany is set to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday, part of efforts by European leaders to steer the negotiations.
For months, American officials have tried to navigate the demands of each side as U.S. President Donald Trump presses for a swift end to Russia’s war and grows increasingly exasperated by delays. The search for possible compromises has run into a major obstacle over who keeps Ukrainian territory that Russian forces have occupied in the nearly four-year invasion.
The drone attack in Russia's Saratov region damaged a residential building and several windows were also blown out at a kindergarten and clinic, said Gov. Roman Busargin. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had shot down 41 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight.
In Ukraine, Russia launched overnight drone and missile strikes on five Ukrainian regions, targeting energy and port infrastructure. Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said that over a million people were without electricity.
Zelenskyy said Russia had sent over 450 drones and 30 missiles into Ukraine overnight.
An attack on the Black Sea city of Odesa caused grain silos to catch fire at the port, Ukrainian deputy prime minister and reconstruction minister Oleksiy Kuleba said. Two people were wounded in attacks on the wider Odesa region, according to regional head Oleh Kiper.
Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia is trying to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civilians access to heat, light and running water for a fourth consecutive winter, in what Ukrainian officials call “weaponizing” the cold.
On the front lines, Ukrainian forces said Saturday that the northern part of the critical city of Pokrovsk was under Ukrainian control, despite Russia's claims earlier this month that it had taken full control of the city. The Associated Press was not able to independently verify the claims.
The latest round of attacks came after Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said Friday that Russian police and national guard will stay on in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas and oversee the industry-rich region, even if a peace settlement ends the war. It underscores Moscow’s ambition to maintain its presence in Donbas postwar. Ukraine is likely to reject such a stance as U.S.-led negotiations drag on.
Moscow will give its blessing to a ceasefire only after Ukraine’s forces have withdrawn from the front line, Ushakov said in comments published in Russian business daily Kommersant.
In other developments, around 480 people were evacuated on Saturday from a train traveling between the Polish city of Przemysl and Kyiv after police received a call concerning a threat on the train, Karolina Kowalik, a spokesperson for the Przemysl police, told The Associated Press. Nobody was hurt and she didn't elaborate on the threat.
Polish authorities are on high alert since multiple attempts to disrupt trains on the line linking Warsaw to the Ukrainian border, including the use of explosives in November, with Polish authorities saying they have evidence Russia was behind it.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade press service, recruits attend drills at a training ground in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (Andriy Andriyenko/Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade press service, recruits rest after drills at a training ground in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (Andriy Andriyenko/Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade press service, recruits rest after drills at a training ground in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (Andriy Andriyenko/Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade press service, recruits attend drills at a training ground in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (Andriy Andriyenko/Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
In this grab from a video provided by the Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine on Friday, Dec 12, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy records a video at the road entering of Kupiansk, Ukraine. (Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine via AP)
