Iraqi Police Deny Chlorine Used in Bomb

Iraqi police northeast of Baghdad reversed themselves Wednesday and said a bomb that killed 32 people a day earlier did not contain chlorine gas.

The blast Tuesday in a parked car near a market in the village of Abu Saydah about 25 miles northeast of Baquba also injured more than 60 people, Alalam reported.

Initial reports were that doctors at a local hospital attributed victims’ burns to the use of poison gas, a BBC correspondent reported. Hospital officials said many of the wounded were also having difficulty breathing and had their vision affected, which is typical of chlorine exposure.

However, police later denied there had been chlorine involved, Alalam said.

In April, 35 people were killed in Ramadi, west of Baghdad, when a chlorine bomb exploded.

The chemical, used for water purification, is widely available in Iraq.