Deadly Baghdad explosion was accidental gas blast: US [View All]

[sabra]

http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=137405

Deadly Baghdad explosion was accidental gas blast: US

BAGHDAD - A deadly explosion which demolished a building in a Baghdad market was an accidental gas blast, a US military spokesman said Monday, differing sharply from the Iraqi government's version of events.

Iraqi officials -- including the office of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki -- had earlier blamed a series of insurgent car bombs and missile strikes for Sunday's explosions, which killed at least 57 people as night fell.

But Major General William Caldwell, the chief spokesman for the US-led military coalition in Iraq, told reporters that American explosives experts believed that a major gas explosion had triggered a series of blasts.

"Our explosives specialists reported today that it was a very significant gas explosion on the first floor of the building," he said.