At least nine people were killed and 13 injured after a petrol tanker exploded in an accident in the Iraqi capital, security forces said.
Security forces say a gasoline tanker has exploded in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, killing at least nine people and injuring several others.
The explosion, heard across Baghdad, struck near a football field in the east of the city on Saturday night and sent shrapnel into residential buildings and onto grass fields.
The commander of security forces in Baghdad, Ahmad Salim, said: “Nine civilians were killed and 13 injured” when the tanker exploded.
“The explosion was an accident and not an act of terrorism,” he added.
Reuters news agency reported that most of the victims were amateurs playing in their neighborhood stadium.
Medical sources gave the AFP news agency a higher death toll, with one saying 12 people had been killed.
An AFP reporter said windows of nearby buildings were blown out and vehicles in the area were damaged.
“We were at home and felt a very strong explosion and the smell of gas,” resident Mohammed Aziz, who lives just 100 meters (330 feet) away, told AFP.
“It felt like we were suffocating,” he added. “Our doors and windows were blown out.”
Of Iraq recently elected The president, Abdul Latif Rashid, promised an investigation to identify those responsible for the crash.
Safety standards in the traffic and construction sectors are frequently imposed in Iraq, and accidents are common.
In April 2021, more than 80 people died in a hospital fire in Baghdad, after poorly preserved oxygen bottles exploded.
