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Tehran: Iraq's ambassador to Tehran told media on Wednesday a bomb had been found in front of his residence on Tuesday, but Iran's official Irna news agency said there was no evidence of an explosive device.
Iraqi Ambassador Mohammad Majid Al Shaikh was quoted by Al Arabiya television as saying the bomb had been planted as a "terrorist act" aimed at harming ties between Iran and Iraq.
The semi-official Iranian news agency Fars said the package was later defused.
"After the police came, it became clear that the package contained a bomb and quickly the street leading to the residence was blocked and all the necessary actions started," the ambassador told Fars.
'No dangerous material'
However, Irna yesterday quoted an informed source at Iran's Foreign Ministry as saying the package had not been a bomb. "Based on expert studies by those in charge, the suspicious package did not contain any dangerous materials and it was a package which contained ordinary things."
The Iraqi embassy was not immediately available for comment. The ambassador told Al Arabiya television the embassy had not received any threat. But, he added, "of course this is a terrorist act which aims to prevent a developed relationship between Iraq and the Islamic Republic".
He noted it happened just one day after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki left Tehran. "The enemies of Iraq ... do not want Iraq to have a good relationship with neighbouring states especially with the Islamic Republic," he said.
Blast kills 5 people
A roadside bomb exploded in a busy area of Baghdad yesterday, killing five minibus passengers and wounding 10, police said.
The blast happened in the Kadhimiya district of northwestern Baghdad, a popular shopping area.
A civilian was killed and seven were wounded when another roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol in southwestern Baghdad, police said.
US and Iraqi officials have said there has been an improvement in security in Iraq leading to a drop in violence five years after the US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussain.
But US commanders say the gains are fragile and reversible.
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