A car bomb exploded outside a Shi’ite mosque in southwest Baghdad on Friday, killing at least 14 people and wounding 40, hospital sources said.
The bomb exploded outside the al-Taf mosque in the Baya area of the capital as worshippers were marking Eid al-Adha, one of Islam’s most important festivals.
It was suspected that Sunni extremists were behind the attack, one of many on the Shi’ite majority amid increasing attacks as the January 30 elections approach.
The attack was the second on a Shi’ite mosque in Baghdad this week after one Wednesday, in which which no one was injured.
Also on Friday morning, insurgents attacked a checkpoint near Muhawil, about 80km south of Baghdad, killing two Iraqi soldiers and wounding two soldiers and two policemen, police sources said. – Sapa-DPA