Medical and police sources who spoke to Reuters put the number of wounded at 24.
“A terrorist attack via a VBIED [vehicle borne improvised explosive device] which was parked next to the outside wall of the cultural group area in Mosul city, resulting in the martyrdom of one civilian and injury of 13 others, according to initial information on the incident,” read a statement from Iraqi Security Media Cell.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
According to local media outlets, the explosion took place near Mosul University campus.
Abdul-Karim Atroshi, head of the university’s media affairs, confirmed the explosion to Rudaw English, but said it had not affected the university.
“It took place in a street near the university,” Atroshi said.
Five people were killed in a similar car bombing in Mosul last November.
In an earlier statement, the Iraqi Security Media Cell said a Hashd al-Shaabi vehicle exploded after passing over an IED 50 kilometers south of the city.
Mosul was occupied by the Islamic State group (ISIS) in summer 2014 before its liberation by Iraqi, Kurdish, and coalition forces in summer 2017. Much of the Old City was destroyed in savage street fighting and coalition airstrikes.
Haider al-Abadi, former prime minister of Iraq, announced the defeat of ISIS in Iraq in December 2017. However, militants have returned to their earlier insurgency tactics or kidnapping, ambushes, and bombings.
