Baghdad: A bomb ripped through a crowd of worshippers coming out of a mosque in northern Iraq after prayers at the start of Eid Al Adha on Tuesday, killing 12 people and wounding 24, a police official said.
The attack took place in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, 290km north of Baghdad, said Police Colonel Taha Salah Al Deen. The bomb went off as worshippers were leaving the Al Qodus mosque after morning prayers for the beginning of the Eid.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The police sealed off the area around the mosque.
More than 5,000 people have been killed in Iraq since Al Qaida and other militants stepped up attacks following a deadly security crackdown against a protest camp in April.
Much of the violence tearing through Iraq is the work of the local Al Qaida branch. While it is possible that insurgents could be behind mosque attacks, hoping to stoke sectarian hatred, militias may also be behind such assaults.
The latest attack came despite tight security measures imposed by security forces to prevent attacks during the Eid celebrations.
