Explosion in Baghdad results in 1 death
BAGHDAD — An explosion rocked a market Thursday in east Baghdad, killing one person and injuring 12, according to Iraq’s military.
The military said the blast in the capital’s Sadr City in the Habibiya neighborhood was caused by a car laden with highly explosive materials that blew up while passing through a popular used-furniture market. It sent a cloud of black smoke above the area. Shortly afterward, a crowd gathered around the wreckage of a charred car and a burned-out van. A fire engine was parked nearby.
A military statement said one person was killed and 12 injured, according to a preliminary investigation. Five vehicles were burned, it added. It did not say what caused the detonation.
The driver of the car was killed in the explosion, the statement said.
Iraq’s president condemned the attack, calling it a “shameless” attempt by terrorist groups to destabilize the country during the holy month of Ramadan.
“We stand firmly against these attempts,” Barham Salih tweeted.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing.