ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – After explosions at two separate weapons storage sites of the Zeravani Peshmerga in August, the command of the force have said that they will destroy all weapons confiscated from ISIS militants to prevent similar incidents being repeated in the future.
The announcement came a day after a weapon storage facility of the force near Erbil International Airport exploded Saturday night that caused a fire and a loud bang that could be heard in the city center.
The explosion initially raised fears that it may be a terrorist attack inside the city.
The command ruled out any terror related incident.
“We reassure everyone that the incident is not related to a terrorist act,” a statement published by the command read Sunday.
“The cause of the fire is because the ISIS weapons are not made according to international standards and scientific methods,” the statement added.
It said that the Zeravani forces have decided to destroy all weapons confiscated from ISIS being held at every storage location since they fear such incidents may be repeated in the future.
It was the second such incident this month. A similar explosion on August 5 lightly injured three Zeravani Peshmerga soldiers.
Although usually called Peshmerga, Zeravani are a militarized police force that is under the command of the Kurdistan Region’s Interior Ministry.
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