BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A blast rocked Baghdad’s northeastern Sadr City district on Thursday but accounts differed on whether it caused any casualties. Islamic State claimed responsibility.

Police Colonel Jamal Hameed told Reuters a parcel had been found on the side of the road near a market and detonated in a controlled explosion, hurting no one.

He said an earlier statement by the joint military-police Baghdad Operations Command mentioning a suicide bomb and several deaths had been released in error.

That statement had said a bomber detonated an explosive belt surrounded by security forces. Local media reported that at least eight people were killed. Reuters was unable to independently verify whether there were any casualties.

Islamic State released its own statement, saying a suicide bomber had detonated an explosive vest in Sadr City, killing eight people and wounding more than 10.

Iraq declared victory over the militant group in 2017, three years after it took over vast swathes of the country. Its fighters have since adapted their tactics to focus on insurgent-style attacks.

The blast hit days after the start of the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn to sunset and tend to congregate in public places after breaking their fast. </s> BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A blast in Baghdad’s Sadr City district on Thursday was a controlled explosion and caused no deaths or injuries, an Iraqi police official said.

Colonel Jamal Hameed told Reuters a parcel had been found on the side of the road near a market and was detonated by an ordnance team sent by the joint military-police Baghdad Operations Command.

Earlier a military statement described the blast as a suicide bombing that had killed and wounded several people. </s> BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A blast rocked Baghdad’s northeastern Sadr City district on Thursday, but there were differing accounts on whether it caused any casualties.

Police Colonel Jamal Hameed told Reuters a parcel had been found on the side of the road near a market and detonated in a controlled explosion, hurting no one.

He said an earlier statement by the joint military-police Baghdad Operations Command mentioning a suicide bomb and several deaths had been released in error.

That statement had said a bomber detonated an explosive belt surrounded by security forces. Local media reported that at least eight people were killed. Reuters was unable to independently verify whether there were any casualties.

The blast hit days after the start of the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn to sunset and tend to congregate in public places after breaking their fast. </s> BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed responsibility on Thursday for a blast in Baghdad, saying a suicide bomber had detonated an explosive vest in the northeastern Sadr City district of the Iraqi capital and killed eight people.

“He, thanks to God almighty, entered into a gathering of infidels ... and detonated his vest, killing eight and wounding more than 10 others,” the group said in a statement. </s> Baghdad: At least 16 people were killed and dozens injured after an arms depot exploded in the Sadr City district of the Iraqi capital on Thursday, security and medical sources said.

"An arms depot exploded. The security forces have opened an inquiry to determine the cause," Baghdad's security operations command said in a statement.

A senior police source told AFP on condition of anonymity that the blast was caused by heavy weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades and shells, belonging to an armed group and stored in a house. He said at least 16 people were killed and some 32 injured in the explosion.

Medical sources confirmed the toll and said that women and children were found among the victims. Sources said the blast struck near a Shia mosque in the district of northeast Baghdad.

Witnesses reported heavy material damage to homes and other buildings in the Sadr City district, which is a stronghold of populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr. </s> BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A blast rocked Baghdad's northeastern Sadr City district on Thursday, but there were differing accounts on whether it caused any casualties.

Police Colonel Jamal Hameed told Reuters a parcel had been found on the side of the road near a market and detonated in a controlled explosion, hurting no one.

He said an earlier statement by the joint military-police Baghdad Operations Command mentioning a suicide bomb and several deaths had been released in error.

That statement had said a bomber detonated an explosive belt surrounded by security forces. Local media reported that at least eight people were killed. Reuters was unable to independently verify whether there were any casualties.

The blast hit days after the start of the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn to sunset and tend to congregate in public places after breaking their fast.

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Your guide to the latest election news, analysis, commentary, live updates and schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on firstpost.com/elections. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram or like our Facebook page for updates from all 543 constituencies for the upcoming general elections. </s> At least 18 people were killed and about 90 wounded in an explosion that hit Sadr City, a suburb of Baghdad controlled by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of the winning coalition in the Iraqi elections in May, police sources reported on Thursday.

According to police sources, the explosion happened on Wednesday night inside a house used as a depot for weapons and ammunition, which was destroyed along with three other homes, while a nearby Shiite mosque was damaged, as seen in epa images released Thursday. </s> At least 18 people were killed, and 23 were wounded in recent violence:

In Baghdad’s Sadr City district, a suicide bomber killed eight people and wounded 15 more. Several stalls at the Jamila market were destroyed. Baghdad Operations Command confirmed the bombing at first, but later claimed that the explosion was controlled and injured no one. ISIS took responsibility for the blast. It is unclear which version of the story is true.

ISIS militants were blamed for an attack on a family in Gawar that left six members dead and wounded two others. The target was a local mukhtar. One militant was wounded.

An attack on a Shirqat grain silo left one guard dead. A soldier was killed when a bomb blew up as first responders arrived.

In Multaqa, an explosion wounded two policemen.

Three Peshmerga were wounded when a mortar exploded accidentally during a training exercise. </s> Powerful blast kills at least nine people and wounds dozens in crowded street of mainly Shia suburb of Iraqi capital.

A suicide bomber detonated a pick-up truck packed with explosives in northern Baghdad on Wednesday, killing at least nine people, according to Iraqi officials.

Thirty others were wounded in the powerful blast in the Habibiya area, near Sadr City, a Shia majority neighbourhood in the Iraqi capital.

The explosion targeted a crowded street full of garages and used car dealers.

The attack came a day after a car bomb explosion in southern Baghdad killed at least four people.

The Iraqi capital was rocked by a wave of deadly suicide bombings during the first days of 2017 but relatively few explosions had been reported since.

IN PICTURES: Fighting the flames of ISIL in Iraq

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Wednesday's blast, but nearly all suicide attacks are claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) armed group.

In January 2, ISIL, which often targets crowded areas to maximise casualties, claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing that killed 39 people in a busy market in Sadr City.

ISIL is defending Mosul, its last major stronghold in Iraq, against a massive, four-month-old operation by an alliance of forces.
A blast hits Baghdad's northeastern Sadr City district. ISIL claims responsibility. No verified report on casualties is presently available.