Mosque Bombing Martyrs around 34 in Iraq

Local Editor

Twin suicide bombings martyred 34 people after midday prayers at a Muslim religious center in Baghdad Tuesday, the latest in violence sparking fears of a revival of full-blown sectarian bloodshed.

Several students from an adjacent university were among the dead, with dozens of others wounded, while security forces shut down the neighborhood to vehicle traffic and sought to defuse a suspected car bomb nearby.

The bombings also wounded 77 people, the officials said
The attacks come amid a surge in nationwide unrest, with May the country's deadliest month since 2008.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, but militants linked to al-Qaeda frequently carry out suicide bombings and look to target Shia Muslims, whom they regard as apostates.
Tuesday's attacks struck at the Habib ibn al-Mudhaher husseiniyah, in north Baghdad. It lies next to the Imam al-Sadiq university, a private teaching institution.
Many victims were university students who were taking a break from studying for their exams to pray.

Ali Faleh, a university student, said he was inside a stationery shop nearby when he heard a thunderous explosion.
"Everybody ran to the blast site, and I saw the body of a colleague who used to be in my class," he said. "The aim of today's attack was only to hurt the people who were there to study or pray, not to fight or kill anybody else."

According to witnesses and officials, the bombers, who were dressed in suits, began by gunning down the building's guard, followed by the first attacker blowing himself up at the entrance to the hall.
The second militant took advantage of the ensuing chaos and ran through the crowd before setting off his explosives inside the husseiniyah itself.
Meanwhile, bombings elsewhere in Baghdad and north of the capital in Salaheddin province killed two people and wounded six.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team