Friday carnage: Death toll in Iraq mosque attack reaches 73
05:44AM Sat 23 Aug, 2014
Baghdad: Iraqi Shiite militiamen opened fire on minority Sunnis in a mosque on Friday, killing more than 70 people just as Baghdad is trying to build a cross-community government to fight Islamists whose rise has alarmed Western powers.
A police officer said that local militants broke into the mosque and opened fire in Imam Wais village in Baquba, capital of Diyala province, some 120km northeast of Baghdad. Several dozens were wounded in the attack.
The bloodbath marks a setback for Prime Minister-designate Haider Al Abadi, from the majority Shiite community, who is seeking support from Sunnis and ethnic Kurds to take on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) insurgency.
Reuters, AP
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