At least 16 killed in Iraq mosque blasts

At least 16 killed in Iraq mosque blasts
Fri Sep 20, 2013 15:31:53

Two bombs exploded in a mosque in Iraq as worshippers entered for prayers on Friday, killing 16 people, police and a doctor said.

The bombs, which hit the Musab bin Omair mosque near Samarra, north of Baghdad, also wounded 15 people, the sources said.

Militants have carried out numerous attacks on both Sunni and Shiite mosques this year, raising fears of a return to all-out sectarian conflict, which peaked in 2006-2007 and killed thousands of people.

The February 2006 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra itself sparked the wave of brutal violence.

Violence in Iraq has reached a level not seen since 2008, killing more than 4,200 people since the beginning of the year, according to an AFP toll based on security and medical sources.

NJF/NJF

string(691) "[{"id":"1516108","sort":"3094636","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/09/12/alalam_635145813672743043_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Iraq clears den of MKO terrorists at Camp Ashraf"} ,{"id":"1516766","sort":"3094637","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/09/14/alalam_635147909625778643_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Suicide bomber kills 26 in Iraq’s Nineveh"} ,{"id":"1516888","sort":"3094638","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/09/15/alalam_635148442333111195_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Baghdad denies shipment of Syria CWs into Iraq"} ,{"id":"1517833","sort":"3094639","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/09/18/alalam_635151035267136781_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Car bomb kills child, wounds dozens in northeast Iraq"} ]"