One killed, 12 wounded in market explosion in Iraq's capital

The cause of the blast in the city's Sadr City area, in the Habibiya neighborhood, was not immediately known. It sent a cloud of black smoke above the area. Shortly afterward, a crowd of people gathered around the wreckage of a charred car, indicating a possible car bomb. 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.

Explosions in the Iraqi capital were once almost daily occurrences but have become less frequent in the past few years, particularly following the defeat of the Islamic State group in 2017. In January, twin suicide bombings ripped through a busy market in the Iraqi capital, killing more than 30 people and wounding dozens.

The development comes hours after a drone strike targeted US-led coalition troops near Erbil airport and a Turkish military base in northern Iraq.

Wednesday night's drone attack targeted coalition forces based near Erbil international airport and caused a fire that damaged a building, according to the Kurdish region's Interior Ministry and coalition officials.

Separately, a rocket attack targeting a Turkish military base in northern Iraq's Bashiqa region killed one Turkish soldier and wounded a child in a nearby village, Turkey's Defense Ministry said.

There was no claim of responsibility for either attack.

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