BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) — Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a Shi’ite mosque in Baghdad on Thursday (February 25), killing at least 15 people in an attack claimed by Islamic State militants.
Fifty other people were wounded in the blast in the predominantly Shi’ite Shuala neighbourhood of the Iraqi capital, police and medical sources said.
The first bomber detonated his vest inside the mosque and the second blew himself up when security forces gathered at the site of the initial blast.
“A few young people entered the mosque for prayer and there were others praying. The terrorists walked into the hall from this door (pointing) and when one reached the pulpit, he blew himself up. Minutes later, when people heard about the blast, they hurried to the mosque to look for a father, a brother or an uncle and a second suicide bomber blew himself up at the main door of the mosque, killing and hurting many. Five were killed and around 60 others were wounded,” said mosque muezzin Nouri Hassan.
Four of the victims were members of the security forces, the sources said.
Islamic State, which controls swathes of Iraq’s north and west, said the attacks targeted “apostates” – a term the ultra-hardline Sunni group uses to describe Shi’ite Muslims.
