Bombing near Sunni mosque kills at least a dozen people according to official

(15 Oct 2013) A bomb exploded outside a mosque in northern Iraq on Tuesday, killing 12 people and wounding 24, Iraqi officials said. The bomb ripped through a crowd of Sunni worshippers coming out of a mosque after prayers at the start of the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. The attack took place outside the al-Qodus mosque in the city of Kirkuk, 290 kilometres (180 miles) north of Baghdad, according to police. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and police sealed off the area around the mosque. Bloodstains and shoes could be seen on the ground and a number of cars were damaged. Medics in the Kirkuk General Hospital confirmed the casualty figures, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media. Kirkuk, a frequent flashpoint for violence, is home to an ethnic mix of Arabs, Kurds and Turkomen who all have competing claims to the oil-rich city. More than 5-thousand people have been killed in Iraq since al-Qaida and other militants stepped up attacks following a deadly security crackdown against a Sunni protest camp in April. The surge has sparked fears that the country could see a new round of widespread sectarian bloodshed similar to that which brought the country to the edge of civil war in 2006 and 2007. Much of the violence is the work of the local al-Qaida branch, a Sunni extremist group, which frequently carries out attacks against Shiites and those seen as linked to the Shiite-led government. But several Sunni mosques have also been targeted in recent months and while it is possible that Sunni insurgents could be behind attacks on Sunni mosques in hopes of stoking sectarian hatred, Shiite militias that have begun remobilising across Iraq may also be behind such assaults. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...