US says blast hit Iraq convoy, calls claim of border attack false

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An explosion targeted a US-led coalition convoy in Iraq today and caused no casualties, just hours after a newly formed Shiite militant group falsely claimed bombing a similar convoy at the Iraq-Kuwait border, the American military says.

The little-known Ashab al-Kahf group claimed in an overnight statement it destroyed “equipment and vehicles belonging to the American enemy” in a bombing targeting a border crossing south of the Iraqi city of Basra.

The group later published an 11-second video it claimed showed the blast, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant groups. The out-of-focus video shows what appeared to be an explosion and lights in the distance but The Associated Press could not verify the video.

The Iraqi and Kuwait militaries both denied any attack occurred. US Army Col. Myles B. Caggins III similarly dismisses the claim.

“It’s absolutely false,” Caggins tells the AP. “It was a complete fabrication.”

— AP