The Islamic state has claimed responsibility for a blast that rocked Baghdad’s northeastern Sadr City district on Thursday.
Police Colonel Jamal Hameed said 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.
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.
Iraq’s security agencies have invested heavily in securing Baghdad, the country’s capital, even as insurgents continue to stage attacks in the countryside.
