A large explosion sent a plume of smoke over central Baghdad this evening but Iraqi police and US officers on the scene said there had been no casualties from what they suspected was a roadside bomb attack.
An Iraqi fire engine sprayed water onto a steaming crater beside a main road near the Tigris River in Baghdad.
Several police and American soldiers were on the scene and tried to keep crowds of Iraqis away.
A US military policeman at the scene said it appeared a roadside bomb had been detonated but nobody was injured.
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A taxi, which had been driving past, had its windscreen shattered but the driver said he had not been hurt.
Roadside bomb attacks are one of the most common methods employed by guerrillas in Iraq to attack occupying troops.