Suicide bombers target Baghdad mosque, 26 dead
Two suicide bombers blew themselves up inside and near a Shiite mosque in Baghdad on Tuesday, killing 26 people and wounding 55, Iraqi officials said. Two police officers said the first bomber detonated his explosives at a security checkpoint near the mosque in Baghdads northern Qahira neighborhood in an apparent attempt to distract the authorities. The district is a middle-class, Shiite-majority neighborhood.
Amid the commotion, a second bomber slipped into the mosque and blew himself up while worshippers were performing midday prayers, according to police.
Most of the casualties were among students from a nearby Imam al-Sadiq University for Islamic Studies. Police officials said the universitys Shiite students usually perform their midday prayers in the targeted mosque.
A medic in a nearby hospital confirmed the casualties.
Posted by: Steve White 2013-06-19 |