Several people were killed on Thursday when an explosion hit Iraq's capital Baghdad, authorities said.

According to a statement by Iraq's Security Media Cell, several casualties were reported when an unidentified object exploded in a crowded area of the Kadhimiya area.

The explosion reportedly occurred near the gates leading to the shrines of Imam Musa al-Kadhim and Imam Muhammad al-Jawad, the seventh and ninth imams of Shia Muslims.