Baghdad, Sept 20: There was a strong explosion outside a sports club belonging to the former Iraqi army in central Baghdad last night, but it caused no injuries, Iraqi police and the US military said. The blast, which sent up a large smoke cloud, was heard at about 8:55 pm on the motorway that dissects the capital's north-south axis, and caused shockwaves that rattled windows across the city, an a news correspondent said. The sports club used by officers of the former Iraqi army of deposed President Saddam Hussein was empty at the time of the blast, the sources said. There were no injuries, but a passing taxi was damaged. The US military's seargent Christopher Garabitos told a news agency the blast was caused when a homemade device detonated prematurely, adding that witnesses saw people leaving the scene in a car.
Iraqi Army Lieutenant Akil al-Zubaidi also said it seemed to be a "buried bomb." Smoke continued to billow out of the crater more than an hour later.

US helicopters flew over the area while Iraqi ambulances and soldiers arrived on the scene.

Bureau Report