Suicide bomber targets Shia funeral mourners in Iraq capital
Suicide bomber targets Shia funeral mourners in Iraq capital
A militant has blown himself up at a Baghdad mosque packed with mourners during the funeral of a Shia militia fighter on Friday, killing at least 17 people.
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Baghdad's Shia population have been frequent targets of Sunni militants [AFP]
A suicide bomber killed at least 17 people at a Shia funeral in a mosque in the Iraqi capital on Friday, security and medical officials said.
The attack in the al-Ashara al-Mubashareen mosque in the Amil area of south Baghdad also wounded at least 32 people.
Two officials said the funeral was for a member of the volunteer paramilitary force known as the Popular Mobilisation units.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but suicide bombings are a tactic largely used by Sunni extremists in Iraq, including the Islamic State group, who consider Shia Muslims to be heretics.
The Popular Mobilisation units - which are dominated by Iranian-backed Shia militias - are some of the most effective forces in the battle against IS, which overran large parts of the country last year.
Yesterday, militants detonated a bomb in a busy south Baghdad marketplace, killing shoppers.
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