Market bomb shakes central Baghdad

A bomb hidden in a rubbish bin at a market exploded today, shaking parts of central Baghdad but causing no injuries.

Shop owners at Bab al-Sharji, a series of storefronts selling used electronics and clothing near a park, spotted an explosive device in the rubbish. It detonated shortly after 9am local time, as authorities moved to cordon off the area.

A police officer said no one was injured in the blast. He said authorities uncovered a second bomb hidden in rubbish nearby, but disarmed it before it exploded.

Bab al-Sharji has been the site of past blasts and is located near Tayaran Square, a mixed area of Shiites and Sunnis where a suicide bomber killed at least 63 people and wounded more than 200 last month.

The bomber struck a crowd of mostly poor Shiites near the square on December 12, after luring construction workers onto a pick-up truck by offering them jobs.