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Iraq Baghdad: Islamic State claims double mosque bombing | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
At least 15 people have been killed in a so-called "double tap" bombing at a Shia mosque in Iraq's capital Baghdad. | |
Scores of people were wounded in the blasts, thought to have been the work of two suicide bombers. | |
The first assailant detonated his vest inside the mosque and the second blew himself up when security forces gathered at the site, reports say. | |
The so-called Islamic State (IS) group claimed the attack at the Rasul al-Azam mosque in the Shuala neighbourhood. | |
IS said the bombers had targeted "apostates" - a term the Sunni Muslim jihadist group uses to refer to Shia Muslims. | |
The "double tap" is a technique used to maximise casualties, where a second device is detonated at the site as people flee or emergency services arrive. | The "double tap" is a technique used to maximise casualties, where a second device is detonated at the site as people flee or emergency services arrive. |
At least three of the victims were members of the security forces. | |
A police source told Reuters news agency: "Two suicide bombers wearing explosive belts blew themselves up in front of the Rasul al-Azam in the Shuala district. | |
"The first suicide bomber blew himself up among the worshippers as they left, the second explosion targeted police forces who had arrived to treat the wounded." | "The first suicide bomber blew himself up among the worshippers as they left, the second explosion targeted police forces who had arrived to treat the wounded." |
IS has carried out a string of deadly attacks on Shia mosques in Iraq. | |
It says it carried out an attack on a Baghdad shopping centre last month which killed at least 18 people. |