BAGHDAD: A suicide car bomb devastated a Shia mosque in northern Iraq, one of a series of attacks Friday that killed at least 37 Shia pilgrims and worshippers, police and medical officials said.
The incidents are the latest in a series that have targeted Shias, raising concerns that insurgents are stepping up attacks, hoping to re-ignite sectarian violence that nearly tore the country apart in 2006 and 2007.
Though violence has dramatically declined in Iraq in the past two years, US officials have repeatedly called the security gains fragile and cautioned that a waning insurgency still has the ability to pull off sporadic, high profile attacks.
The deadliest blast occurred in Rasheediyah, north of Mosul, when a suicide car bomb struck a mosque, killing at least 30 people and trapping dozens more underneath the rubble, said a police official in Ninevah operations command.
The official said at least 88 were injured in the blast. Bodies were still being pulled from the rubble, the official said.
The attack occurred shortly after one p.m. as worshippers were leaving Friday prayers. The blast also severely damaged a dozen other buildings near the mosque, the official said.
In Baghdad, roadside bombs targeted Shia pilgrims returning from the southern holy city of Karbala.
The first of three bombs exploded at about 9:10 a.m., targeting a minibus with pilgrims as it entered the Shia slum of Sadr City, a police official said. The blast killed four pilgrims and wounded eight others, the official said. The causalities were confirmed by a medical official.
A short time later, two near simultaneous explosions near the Shaab football stadium in eastern Baghdad killed three pilgrims as they were walking home to Sadr City, said another police official.
Thirteen pilgrims also were wounded in the two blasts, which occurred less than half a mile apart, the official said.
All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information to the media.
The blasts came a day after a roadside bomb targeted pilgrims on their way to Karbala, killing one and wounding four others. Last Friday, a string of bombings targeted Shia worshippers in the Baghdad area during Friday prayers, killing at least 29 people.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Attacks on Shia civilians — particularly during pilgrimages — have been the hallmark of Sunni extremists, including al-Qaida in Iraq.
Hundreds of thousands of devout Shias have been traveling by foot or by vehicle to Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad, to celebrate the birth of Mohammed al-Mahdi, the 12th Shia imam. — AP
Though violence has dramatically declined in Iraq in the past two years, US officials have repeatedly called the security gains fragile and cautioned that a waning insurgency still has the ability to pull off sporadic, high profile attacks.
The deadliest blast occurred in Rasheediyah, north of Mosul, when a suicide car bomb struck a mosque, killing at least 30 people and trapping dozens more underneath the rubble, said a police official in Ninevah operations command.
The official said at least 88 were injured in the blast. Bodies were still being pulled from the rubble, the official said.
The attack occurred shortly after one p.m. as worshippers were leaving Friday prayers. The blast also severely damaged a dozen other buildings near the mosque, the official said.
In Baghdad, roadside bombs targeted Shia pilgrims returning from the southern holy city of Karbala.
The first of three bombs exploded at about 9:10 a.m., targeting a minibus with pilgrims as it entered the Shia slum of Sadr City, a police official said. The blast killed four pilgrims and wounded eight others, the official said. The causalities were confirmed by a medical official.
A short time later, two near simultaneous explosions near the Shaab football stadium in eastern Baghdad killed three pilgrims as they were walking home to Sadr City, said another police official.
Thirteen pilgrims also were wounded in the two blasts, which occurred less than half a mile apart, the official said.
All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information to the media.
The blasts came a day after a roadside bomb targeted pilgrims on their way to Karbala, killing one and wounding four others. Last Friday, a string of bombings targeted Shia worshippers in the Baghdad area during Friday prayers, killing at least 29 people.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Attacks on Shia civilians — particularly during pilgrimages — have been the hallmark of Sunni extremists, including al-Qaida in Iraq.
Hundreds of thousands of devout Shias have been traveling by foot or by vehicle to Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad, to celebrate the birth of Mohammed al-Mahdi, the 12th Shia imam. — AP
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