Baghdad: Mosque attacks kill 9 people

Sunni mosques a target of terror attacks during Friday prayer times.

baghdad empty 298 88 ap (photo credit: AP)
baghdad empty 298 88 ap
(photo credit: AP)
Bombs and a mortar round struck four Sunni mosques in Baghdad and northeast of the capital Friday, killing at least nine people and wounding eight, authorities said. The mortar round landed in front of the al-Nidaa Sunni mosque in northern Baghdad about 2:00 p.m., killing five people, including a policeman, and wounding two worshippers, the army said. A car bomb also exploded about 10 minutes later as worshippers were leaving a Sunni mosque in western Baghdad, killing three people, a woman and two children, police Lt. Maitham Abdul-Razzaq said. A bomb targeting the al-Furqan Sunni mosque in northeastern Baghdad wounded a passer-by, Sgt. Mohammed Nour said. Northeast of Baghdad, a roadside bomb struck worshippers leaving the Ahmed bin Hanbal Sunni mosque in Baqouba, killing one person and wounding five others, according to police. The explosions hit the mosques despite a four-hour driving ban in the capital aimed at preventing such attacks that often target the main weekly Islamic religious service. The 11 a.m.-3 p.m. driving ban has been imposed weekly amid a rise in ethnic and sectarian violence.