Iraqi paramilitary member killed in mortar shell explosion

BAGHDAD, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Iraq's paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) said Monday that one of its members was killed in a mortar shell explosion in northern Salahuddin province.

In a statement, the PMF said that Sattar Jabbar al-Abadi, a member of the 6th Brigade, was killed following the explosion, without providing further details.

Major Saad Mohammed from the Salahuddin Operations Command told Xinhua that the explosion, believed to have been caused by a mortar shell, occurred when PMF personnel were cleaning and maintaining operations at their site inside a military base north of Tikrit, the provincial capital.

The explosion also wounded three other PMF members, Mohammed added. Enditem