Sad news: Blast during sermon in Iraq mosque kills at least 18

A bomb hidden in a Sunni mosque exploded while worshipers listened to a sermon Friday, killing at least 18 people and injuring 36, police and health officials said.

The bomb had been hidden under a podium from which an imam was speaking in the mosque, located in al-Wajihiya in the largely Sunni province of Diyala, said police officials in the nearby provincial capital of Baquba.

Al-Wajihiya is a small Sunni village close to Muqdadiya, a largely Shiite district. It is about 25 kilometers northeast of Baquba, which itself is about 60 kilometers north-northeast of Baghdad.

The bloodshed comes amid a recent uptick in violence, much of it stemming from discord between Sunnis and Shiites.

Sunni Arabs had more political clout in Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s rule, before his government was deposed in 2003 by the U.S.-led invasion.

Sunnis have long felt politically marginalized under a Shiite-led government in the post-Saddam era.

Read more: CNN

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail