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Suicide bomber kills eight at Iraq Shiite mosque: officials

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AFP Baghdad
A suicide bomber targeted Shiite worshippers at a Baghdad mosque after Friday prayers, killing at least eight people, security and medical officials said.

The attack in southwest Baghdad also wounded at least 31 people, the officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State jihadist group carries out frequent suicide bombings targeting Shiites, whom it considers heretics.

IS overran swathes of territory north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led strikes have since regained significant ground.

Bombings in Baghdad have decreased since mid-2014, with the jihadists occupied by fighting in other areas.
 

But IS still controls a large part of the country's west, and is able to carry out frequent bombings in government-held areas.

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First Published: Apr 22 2016 | 7:57 PM IST

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