Iraq attacks kill 27 people

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A wave of attacks in Iraq, including a suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in Baghdad, killed 27 people Tuesday, the latest in a protracted surge in bloodshed.

In the deadliest attack, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to a Shia mosque in central Baghdad’s Shorja neighbourhood as worshipers were performing ablutions ahead of mid-day prayers.

At least 19 people were killed and 34 wounded in the blast at the Abu al-Timan Husseiniyah, near the headquarters of the Baghdad mayoralty, security and medical officials said.

Security forces barred journalists from taking photographs or videos of the aftermath of the scene, a common occurrence in the wake of deadly violence in the capital.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, but militants including those linked to the powerful Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant jihadist group often target Iraq’s Shia majority.

Elsewhere in the capital, roadside bombs in the neighbourhoods of Sadr City and Dura left two people dead.

And a series of shootings and bombings in the main northern city of Mosul killed six others.

Mosul and surrounding Nineveh province are among the most violent parts of Iraq, and security officials say Sunni militant groups including ISIL hold significant sway there.

Tuesday’s incidents pushed the death toll for the year above 4,000 as near-daily violence and battles with militants in western Iraq have fuelled fears the country is slipping back into the all-out conflict that plagued it in 2006 and 2007.