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One person died while eight were injured in the explosion at the Calso base. Former pro-Iranian paramilitary group Hashed al-Shaabi is stationed at the base, AFP reported citing an interior ministry source and a military official.
The overnight attack inflicted “material losses” and casualties, read a statement by Hashed al-Shaabi, an umbrella outfit of mostly Shiite armed groups that was formed to fight ISIS. It is now part of Iraq’s security forces.
The blast hit equipment, weapons, and vehicles, reported AFP citing ministry sources. An unnamed military official seconded this, saying the blasts occurred in “warehouses storing equipment”. No claim of responsibility has been made for the attack yet.
The US military said on social media that its forces were not involved in the strike. “We are aware of reports claiming that the United States conducted airstrikes in Iraq today. Those reports are not true. The United States has not conducted air strikes in Iraq today,” it said.
The latest attack comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and Israel, two arch-foes in the Middle East that are on the brink of a war in the fallout of the Gaza conflict.
Earlier this month, Israel attacked Iran’s embassy in Syria, killing at least 11 people including a top Revolutionary Guard commander. In response, Iran launched an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel earlier this week.
The tit-for-tat exchange continued with Israel launching a drone attack on Iranian soil on Friday, according to US officials. Explosions were reported near Isfahan, Iran’s third-biggest city, prompting it to activate its air defence system over several cities.
Though there were reports of missiles being fired, Iran said they had shot down several drones and there had been “no missile attack for now”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, while speaking to NBC News, downplayed Friday’s drone attack and said so far a link to Israel had not been proven. He also termed the drones “toys that our children play with”.
He also warned that if Israel acts against Iran’s interests, its response will be immediate and at the “maximum level”. “If Israel wants to do another adventurism and acts against the interests of Iran, our next response will be immediate and at the maximum level,” he said.

Actor Harshika Poonacha, who works predominantly in Kannada movies, claimed she and her husband Bhuvann Ponnannaa were harassed for speaking in the local language by a group of men who also tried to rob them.

In an extensive Instagram post with videos and photos of the alleged attackers, the actor asked, “How safe are we locals in our Bangalore? Are we living in Pakistan or Afghanistan?“

According to the actor, she had stepped out to have dinner with her husband and family at the Karama Restaurant near Bangalore’s upscale Fraser Town on April 2. As they left the restaurant and sat in their car, the actor said they were attacked by a group of men.

Narrating the harrowing experience, she wrote, “A couple of days ago, I went to have dinner with my family at a restaurant called “Karama” on Masjid Road in Pulikeshi Nagar near Fraser Town area. After dinner, we were leaving the valet parking after taking our car, when two men suddenly appeared near the driver-side window and started arguing that our vehicle was so big that if it suddenly moved it might touch them. 

“My husband asked them to leave because they were talking about a possible incident and it didn’t make sense. We moved the vehicle a little further and by then, these two men started abusing us in their language and even tried to hit my husband in the face and said, ‘These local Kannadigas should be taught a lesson.’ My husband was very patient and didn’t react much…” she wrote.

Within minutes, she alleged, around 30 men from the same gang gathered and tried to snatch her husband’s gold chain and broke it as her husband resisted the snatching.

“… Two of them tore my husband’s gold chain and tried to pull it towards them… My husband realised just in time and held on to it and gave it to me. They damaged the car and tried to physically abuse us by saying things that neither we nor the others could understand.

“My husband did not react much since there were women and family in our car. Also, what I noticed was that they had a problem with us speaking in Kannada. ‘Yeh local Kannada wala hai (these are local Kannada people),’ they said. It agitated them more when my husband and I spoke in Kannada only,” she claimed.

She soon made a call to the inspector she knew from the area and the men “dispersed in a fraction of a second like nothing had happened”. “We tried looking for them but they had disappeared into thin air in a matter of seconds,” she added.

However, the actor got no help from the local police, she claimed. “We found a patrol police vehicle nearby and narrated the incident to Mr Umesh, the Assistant Sub-Inspector, from the nearby police station, he did not seem keen to help us. He said we should talk to the higher-ups in the department and did not even have the courtesy to come and find out what happened.”

Flagging the police official’s blatant apathy, she said, “He wanted to drink the moosambi juice that he was drinking in front of a restaurant just two buildings ahead.”

The police, however, said they have not received any complaint in the case yet. “The incident happened on April 2. We contacted the concerned and asked them to file a complaint. They have asked for more time. We are waiting,” they said.

Ms Poonacha said she didn’t file a police complaint since her family thought their safety was important.