Baquba: Two nearly simultaneous bombs targeted worshippers streaming out of joint Sunni-Shiite prayers north of Baghdad on Friday, killing at least 30 people in the latest deadly surge in violence.
Unrest elsewhere left three others dead, as authorities grapple with Iraq`s worst bloodshed since 2008. The country is stuck in a prolonged political deadlock as Syria`s 30-month civil war causes regional instability.
Two roadside bombs went off outside the Al-Salam mosque, a Sunni place of worship in the confessionally mixed city of Baquba, at around midday as Sunnis and Shiites left after a joint prayer session.
Thirty people were killed and 24 wounded in the twin explosions, according to an army major and Ahmed al-Azzawi, a doctor at the city`s main hospital.
Baquba, about 60 kilometres (35 miles) north of Baghdad, and the surrounding province of Diyala are mostly populated by Sunni Arabs, although there are substantial Shiite Muslim and Kurdish minorities.
It remains one of Iraq`s least stable areas, and is regularly struck by deadly attacks.
Three car bombs in and around the city killed 10 people on Tuesday.
Attacks also struck elsewhere in Diyala. Another bombing targeted a mosque in the town of Khanaqin, killing one person, and a car bomb at a market north of Baquba wounded five.
In the restive northern province of Nineveh, a shooting and a bombing killed a soldier and a municipal official.
Iraq has seen a spike in violence that has already left more than 4,000 people dead this year, sparking fears it is slipping back into the all-out sectarian war that plagued it in 2006 and 2007.
Officials have sought to tackle the violence with high-profile operations targeting militants and tough traffic restrictions in the capital, but attacks continue to rock much of the country.
They have vowed to press on with the campaign, which they say has led to the capture of hundreds of fighters and the killing of dozens more, as well as the dismantling of training camps and bomb-making sites.
But the government has faced criticism for not doing more to defuse anger in the Sunni Arab community over alleged ill-treatment at the hands of the Shiite-led authorities. Analysts and diplomats say militant groups exploit that on the ground to recruit and carry out attacks.
AFP
