Two killed in tanker explosion in Baghdad

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A tanker exploded in Baghdad’s Baladiyat area on Monday, killing two and injuring another.

The Iraqi interior ministry announced on Monday that three people were injured as a result of the explosion of a tanker carrying oil derivatives in Baghdad, stating that the incident was "accidental."

Rudaw’s reporter on the ground said two of the injured lost their lives due to the severity of injuries sustained in the blast.

Many security forces flooded the scene in response to the incident. 

The interior ministry rejected rumors widely circulated on social media that the blast was from an airstrike.

The incident comes against the backdrop of the killing on Friday of Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iran-backed armed groups claiming to have launched retaliatory strikes on Israel. Uncertainty around the explosion has sparked fear in Iraq of a possible strike targeting armed groups in the country.

Ziad Ismail contributed to this report