Explosive detonates in Baghdad, targets Australian diplomats

A small homemade explosive detonated on Friday near Baghdad’s Green Zone as an Australian diplomatic convoy made its way into the area, two security officials told The Associated Press.
No injuries were reported.
The blast happened amid Australia’s diplomatic mission’s efforts to mediate between influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and an Iran-backed faction of rival Shiite parties, according to the security officials, to end one of Iraq’s worst political crises in recent years.
Caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi has been unsuccessful in trying to bring the quarreling groups to a settlement. Al-Sadr’s party declined to attend a meeting Al-Kadhimi held last week.
Despite the explosion, the Australian convoy was able to enter the Green Zone.