No injuries reported in Baghdad explosion

A big explosion, believed to be a roadside bomb which detonated prematurely, blew up in a pile of rubbish in Baghdad tonight.

No casualties were reported.

Piles of shrapnel lay about the scene and a taxi was badly damaged. The explosion caused a large crater near the People’s Stadium about a mile north-east of the Palestine Hotel, where much of the huge contingent of international reporters works and lives.

The driver of the damaged taxi said he saw the bomb explode about 20 yards in front of him and his windscreen smashed, but he was not hurt.

Many US soldiers and Iraqi police were on the scene keeping people back.