Iraq military officials say a powerful explosion rocked a market in Baghdad’s Sadr City district Thursday, killing at least one person and injuring at least 12 others.
The military statement did not say what caused the explosion or who was responsible, but witnesses and social media reports blamed a car bomb. Video from the scene showed at least three destroyed vehicles, one of them completely. Others had clearly been burned.
The police and military quickly sealed off the area near the bombing, the second bombing in the city this year. In January, twin suicide bombings ripped through a busy market in the Iraqi capital, killing more than 30 people and wounding dozens.
Explosions in the Iraqi capital have become less frequent in the past few years, particularly following the defeat of the Islamic State group in 2017.
The development comes hours after drone strikes targeted U.S.-led coalition troops near Irbil airport and a Turkish military base in northern Iraq.
