Baghdad, Jun 7 (AFP) At least seven people were killed as an arms depot exploded in the Sadr City district of the Iraqi capital today, security and medical sources said.

"An arms depot exploded... The security forces have opened an inquiry to determine the cause," Baghdad's security operations command said in a statement.

Seven people were killed and 22 injured in the blast, a senior police source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

It was heavy weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades and shells, belonging to an armed group and stored in a house, he said.

The sources said the blast struck near a Shiite mosque in the district of northeast Baghdad.

Witnesses reported heavy material damage to homes and other buildings in the Sadr City district that is a stronghold of populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr. (AFP) AQS

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)