BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – At least 10 people have reportedly been killed and more than 20 others injured in back-to-back explosions in the eastern part of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad with a security official ruling out terrorism as the cause.
The first blast took place in a garage near a football stadium and a cafe in the city in late Saturday, Reuters reported, citing local security sources that said an explosive device attached to a vehicle in the stadium’s garage was detonated, causing a nearby gas tanker to blow up as well.
However, an AFP report cited Ahmad Salim, commander of security forces in Baghdad, as insisting through a statement that “the explosion is an accident and not an act of terrorism.”
He had previously put the number of fatalities at “nine civilians.”
Reports identified most of the victims as amateurs playing football at the stadium.
A medical source, though, told AFP that as many as 12 people had been killed during the incident.
A military statement, meanwhile, said security forces were investigating the cause, without giving further details.
The explosion was heard across much of Iraq’s capital, and shattered the windows in nearby buildings.
No person or group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast.
Iraq’s recently-elected president, Abdul Latif Rashid, promised there would be an investigation to identify those responsible for the accident.
Safety standards in the transport and construction sector are frequently flouted in Iraq, and accidents are a common occurrence.
In April 2021, more than 80 people died in a hospital fire in Baghdad, after badly stored oxygen bottles exploded.