The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad announced on Saturday that a “controlled explosion” was carried out at the Diplomatic Support Center—one of its diplomatic facilities in the Iraqi capital.

 In a post on its official account on platform X, the embassy stated, “Iraqi authorities were notified in advance of a controlled detonation scheduled for Saturday morning, July 19, at 08:30 AM inside the Diplomatic Support Center in Baghdad.”

 Earlier in the day, social media platforms circulated reports of hearing a loud explosion in the Green Zone, located in central Baghdad. The heavily fortified area houses government buildings and foreign embassies, including the U.S. Embassy.