Suicide bomber kills 20 in Iraq Sunni mosque, police say

AP FILE PHOTO

BAQUBA – A suicide bomber struck a crowded Sunni mosque north of Baghdad on Friday, killing 20 people, police said, as Iraq struggles to contain the worst violence since 2008.

The bomber detonated explosives in the Abu Bakr al-Sadiq Mosque as the imam gave the Friday sermon in the town of Al-Wajihiyah, east of Baquba, the capital of Diyala province, a police colonel said.

The attack also wounded 40 people. A doctor confirmed the toll.

Areas near Baquba have been hit by a number of attacks in recent days, including a bombing on Tuesday that targeted worshippers leaving a Sunni mosque in Muqdadiyah, northeast of the city, killing four people and wounding 15.

The latest unrest brings the number of people killed in attacks in July to more than 450, and upwards of 2,700 since the beginning of the year.

Iraq has faced years of attacks by militants, but analysts say widespread discontent among members of its Sunni Arab minority, which the Shiite-led government has failed to address, has fuelled this year’s surge in unrest.