Blast targets mosque, kills 19 in Tikrit of Iraq
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A bomb targeting worshippers ripped through a mosque in Tikrit, hometown of the deposed ruler Saddam Hussein, killing 19 Iraqis including some high-ranking local officials after Friday prayers, local police sources said.
The blast took place outside a mosque that local government officials frequented in the presidential palace site built under Saddam's reign. The bomb detonated when worshippers finished the weekly prayers and went out of the mosque.
There were conflicting accounts of whether the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber or a booby-trapped bomb and a local source told Xinhua it was a roadside bomb made of C4 high explosives.
The incident claimed 19 lives and wounded 54 others, with several provincial officials among the casualties, the source said, asking not to be named.
Earlier the source put the toll at 5 dead and 30 injured. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
The blast came a day after the coordinated bombings in Ramadi, west of Baghdad, killed 9 and wounded 20. At least four roadside bombs and suicide car bombs rocked downtown Ramadi in the night, each exploding within minutes.
Violence in Iraq has dropped dramatically since its peak during the sectarian warfare in 2006 and 2007, but shootings and bombings still occur almost on a daily basis. The recent months have seen increased assassinations and attacks against Iraqi security forces and government officials.
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