(Hatha al-Youm | Iraq News )- ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An explosion rocked a Shia Muslim mosque in Baghdad on Friday, resulting in at least 20 casualties and conflicting reports on the nature of the device used in the attack.The blast occurred inside the Imam Mahdi mosque in the predominantly Shia neighborhood of al-Baladiyat in the eastern suburbs of Baghdad, a security source told Kurdistan 24. Worshippers had just finished their Friday prayers and were about to leave the site when the bomb detonated.Bombings that target religious buildings, once common in the bloody sectarian conflict in the years that followed the 2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime, are now rare in Iraq.The exact number of deaths was not immediately clear, but a witness told Kurdistan 24 that the explosion was "violent," and that at least 20 people were lying on the ground, covered with blood.Local media Alsumaria reported that the attack was carried out by a “suicide bomber” that had killed at least seven people and injured 20 others in the attack. According to other outlets, however, the bomber had used an improvised explosive device (IED).No group has yet claimed responsibility.In previous decades, the building was known as the Mosque of Abdul Rahman al-Kubaisi. After the fall of the former government in 2003, Shia groups took it over and turned it into an establishment exclusive to their sect of Islam, renaming it the Imam Mahdi al-Muntadhar Mosque.On Thursday, at least four people were wounded when a suicide bomber tried to detonate his vest at a cafeteria in Khanaqin, about 175 kilometers (108 miles) north of Baghdad.“The attacker, a young man, attempted to blow himself up at the cafeteria, but he failed,” a source told Kurdistan 24.Editing by John J. Catherine </s> Two people were killed and nine were injured ina suicide bomb blast in Iraq. The sicide bomber exploded at ta Shiite Mosque in the eastern Baghdad. The balst occured in the Imam Mahdi al-Muntadhar mosque in Baladiyat in Sadar City.

One suicide bomber wearing a belt of explosives tried to enter the mosque but was stopped by the guards and then he detonated outside the mosque building. No militant organization has claimed responsibility. </s> At least 10 people were killed and dozens wounded on Friday when a suicide bomber targeted a Shia mosque in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, according to a local security source.

The attack, carried out by an unknown assailant wearing an explosive belt, targeted a mosque in the Al-Baladiyat district of eastern Baghdad, Police Captain Ahmed Khalaf told Anadolu Agency.

Following the attack, ambulances transported 10 bodies and about 30 injured victims of the blast to hospitals, he added. </s> Several people have been killed in a blast at a Shia Muslim mosque in Iraq's capital, Baghdad, according to police and security sources.

The explosion hit the Imam Mahdi al-Muntadhar mosque in Baladiyat neighbourhood during Friday prayers, near the massive and densely-populated district of Sadr City.

The attacker was wearing an explosive-laden belt targetting the mosque, Police Captain Ahmed Khalaf told Anadolu Agency.

He said 10 people were killed and dozens wounded, while other news agencies' reports quoting unidentified security sources put the death toll to at least seven.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Iraq has witnessed a rare period of relative calm in recent months after decades of back-to-back conflict, including years of sectarian violence that regularly saw dozens killed in explosions in Baghdad.

In 2017, Iraq declared victory against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) group, which had also carried out mass attacks against civilians in the capital.

The improved security situation has led officials to dismantle the concrete blast walls, barbed wire and checkpoints that had become ubiquitous in Baghdad.

Last month, at least eight people were killed and 15 wounded in a suicide bombing at a market in eastern Baghdad.

In November, explosions in several Shia-majority districts killed six people, most of them civilians. </s> At least 10 people were killed and dozens wounded on Friday when a suicide bomber targeted a Shia mosque in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, according to a local security source.

The attack, carried out by an unknown assailant wearing an explosive belt, targeted a mosque in the Al-Baladiyat district of eastern Baghdad, Police Captain Ahmed Khalaf told Anadolu Agency.

NO CLAIM OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR DEADLY ATTACK

Following the attack, ambulances transported 10 bodies and about 30 injured victims of the blast to hospitals, he added.

The attack -- taking place amid traditional Friday prayers -- is regarded as the most violent of its kind in Baghdad in some months .

As of around noon GMT, there was no claim of responsibility for the attack. </s> Suicide bombings at two marketplaces in eastern Baghdad killed at least 20 people - the latest in a spate of attacks in the Iraqi capital that have left dozens dead in recent days.

In the first blast claimed by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the attacker drove an explosives-rigged car into a vegetable market in the mainly Shia district of Jamila and detonated it, killing at least 13 people, police said.

A suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest blew himself up a few hours later at a market in the mostly Shia district of Baladiyat, killing another seven people.

Both attacks wounded at least 50 people.

ISIL claimed the first attack in an online statement saying the bomber had targeted "a gathering of Shia" in Jamila.

Jamila is the main wholesale vegetable market in Baghdad and lies in Sadr City, which has been repeatedly targeted.

A series of attacks in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities have killed more than 80 people in just over a week.

Several have been claimed by ISIL, also known as ISIS, which is coming under increasing pressure from a military offensive in Mosul, its last major stronghold in Iraq.

On January 2, also in Sadr City, a suicide bomber blew up a vehicle packed with explosives among a crowd of day labourers waiting for work, killing 35 people.

In July 2016, an ISIL car bombing at a shopping district during Ramadan killed almost 300 people, the worst such attack in years . </s> A suicide explosion at a Shiite mosque in eastern Baghdad killed two civilians and wounded nine people on Friday, two Iraqi police officers told AFP.

The blast hit the Imam Mahdi al-Muntadhar mosque in Baladiyat, near the massive and densely-populated district of Sadr City.

"At least one attacker wearing a belt of explosives tried to enter the building but was stopped by the guards, and detonated himself outside," one officer told AFP.

"Two civilians were killed and nine people were wounded," the source said.

The second officer confirmed the details and toll for the attack.

At the scene, security forces quickly deployed to cordon off the site, an AFP photographer at the mosque said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Iraq has witnessed a rare period of relative calm in recent months after decades of back-to-back conflict, including years of sectarian violence that regularly saw dozens killed in explosions in Baghdad.

In 2017, Iraq declared victory against the Islamic State jihadist group, which had also carried out mass attacks against civilians in the capital.

The improved security situation has led officials to dismantle the concrete blast walls, barbed wire and checkpoints that had become ubiquitous in Baghdad.

Last month, at least eight people were killed and 15 wounded in a suicide bombing at a market in eastern Baghdad.

In November, explosions in several Shiite-majority districts killed six people, most of them civilians. </s> KHOST, Afghanistan: Burqa-clad suicide bombers struck a Shia mosque in eastern Afghanistan Friday as it was crowded with worshippers for prayers, killing at least 39 people and wounding more than 80 in the latest attack on the minority.

Officials said they feared the death toll could rise after the assault, the latest targeting civilians who have borne the brunt of the violence in Afghanistan’s long conflict. “Two suicide explosions happened during Friday prayers in the Khwaja Hasan area of Gardez,” said Abdullah Hasrat, spokesman for Paktia province near the Pakistan border. He told this news agency the toll had risen to 39 killed and 81 wounded, with children among the victims. The bombers wore "women’s clothing", he said, and shot first at the mosque’s security guards before opening fire on worshippers then detonating their explosives.

The Provincial police Chief, General Raz Mohammad Mandozai, confirmed the incident, and that the pair was wearing burqas to hide their explosives and weapons. A local resident Sayed Naimatullah said he could hear the blasts from inside his home and rushed to the mosque. “There were body parts, heads, limbs and arms scattered everywhere. The blood of the worshippers had painted the walls of the mosque... There were pieces of glass scattered all over,” the 30-year-old told AFP. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban have denied involvement.

The blasts come as urban areas across Afghanistan have been rocked by an increasing number of attacks in recent months, with both Islamic State and Taliban insurgents targeting security forces and government installations.

The Taliban has not claimed a major attack in a city for weeks as it comes under increased pressure to agree to peace talks with the Afghan government. But IS has carried out multiple attacks in the eastern city of Jalalabad and the capital Kabul in recent months, targeting everything from government ministries to a midwife training centre. Last month an IS suicide bomber blew himself up near Kabul international airport, killing 23 people, including AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar.

The uptick in violence comes as US and Afghan forces intensify ground and air offensives against IS, and the Taliban step up their turf war with the group. Earlier this week, more than 150 IS fighters surrendered in northern Afghanistan--in a move that Afghan security forces and the Taliban hailed as the end of the extremist group in the north of the country. The surrender followed the Afghan army’s decision to take over security in Jalalabad in IS’s main stronghold of Nangarhar province after a spate of attacks, mostly claimed by the group.

Afghan civilians have taken the brunt of the gruesome war that began after the 2001 US-led invasion uprooted the Taliban regime. Insurgent attacks and suicide bombs were the leading causes of civilian deaths in the first half of 2018, a recent UN report showed. A total of 1,692 civilians were killed --the highest number for the period since the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan began keeping records in 2009. Another 3,430 people were wounded, the report added. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption Some victims were buried hours later in the Shia Muslim holy city of Najaf

Two suicide bombers have killed at least 35 people and injured 90 in an attack on a Baghdad square where day labourers gather to look for work.

They set off their devices at intervals, sending people scattering across Tayaran Square in the centre of the Iraqi capital.

Scores of labourers are said to be among the dead and injured.

Attacks on the city had become less frequent since the Islamic State group lost its Iraqi strongholds last year.

The government declared it had retaken all territory overrun by the Sunni Muslim militants since 2014.

How were the attacks mounted?

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Officials say the death toll could rise

Two men set off suicide bomb belts, the first one detonating his device at around 10:00 (07:00 GMT).

CCTV videos circulated on social media show the moment of the first blast and people fleeing through stalls or carrying at least one person who seems to be injured.

An eyewitness, Husain Abdallah, told AFP news agency the bomber had just got off a bus.

After the blast Mr Abdallah and others began running and were still trying to escape when the second bomb went off.

Another video, recorded on a mobile phone, captured the moment of that attack and the crowd panic that followed, with what appeared to be shots being fired.

The attacks were designed to maximise casualties, as is often the case, with one bomb swiftly followed by another, BBC Arab affairs editor Sebastian Usher says.

Large crowds of construction workers gather to find work every morning on Tayaran and it has been targeted by militants in the past.

Another bomb attack in Baghdad on Monday, in the north-eastern district of Jamila, killed two civilians and injured six others, medical and security sources say.

Who carried out the attacks?

Image copyright EPA Image caption A bloodstained puddle could be seen on the square after the attacks

No group said it had carried out the bombing but such attacks are usually attributed to IS, which regards members of Iraq's majority Shia Muslim community as heretics.

Success by Iraqi forces in defeating IS as a territorial threat is likely to have caused the decrease in attacks recently, as jihadist bomb factories west of Baghdad can no longer operate, our Arab affairs editor adds.

However, there are fears the militants will revert to the guerrilla tactics they have used for so long.

A suicide bomb attack on a checkpoint in the north of the city on Saturday killed at least five people, police said.

How bad have previous attacks been?

Attacks on the square since 2011 have killed 180 people, "often in the run-up to elections or just after the polls", Iraqi analyst Hisham al-Hashemi was quoted as saying by AFP.

Their aim is to "create chaos and exacerbate sectarian divisions", he said.

Other militant attacks in recent years have been even deadlier:

In July 2016 more than 300 civilians were killed and hundreds injured in an IS suicide truck bomb attack on Baghdad's Shia district of Karrada - the deadliest attack by a single bomber in Iraq's history

In November 2016 up to 125 people, many of them Shia pilgrims from Iran and Afghanistan, were killed in a suicide car bombing by IS at a petrol station in Hilla, south of Baghdad

In July 2015 a truck bombing in a marketplace at Khan Bani Saad, Diyala, killed up to 120; it was claimed by IS

On 11 May 2016 multiple bombings in Baghdad targeted mainly Shia districts including Sadr City, killing 93 people; IS said it had carried out two of the attacks
Ten civilians are killed when a suicide bomber detonates his explosive belt in a crowd of worshippers at a Shia mosque in eastern Baghdad, Iraq.