TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Sunday offered condolences to the Iraqi people and government over a deadly gas tanker blast that killed at least nine people and wounded several others.

Kanaani expressed sympathy with the families of the victims and wished the wounded a speedy recovery. 

The gas tanker exploded in Baghdad on Saturday night. Iraqi authorities said it was an accident. 13 people were wounded in the blast.

"Nine civilians were killed and 13 injured" when the tanker exploded, the commander of security forces in Baghdad, Ahmad Salim, said in a statement.

"The explosion is an accident and not an act of terrorism," he added.

A medical source told AFP that 12 people had been killed.

Another medical source had previously told AFP there were "eight dead and 20 injured".

An AFP correspondent said the windows of nearby buildings were blown out and vehicles in the area were damaged.

"We were at home and felt a very strong blast and a smell of gas," local resident Mohammed Aziz, who lives just 100 meters (yards) from the blast site, said.

"It felt like we were suffocating," he added. "Our doors and windows were blown out."