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Baghdad car bombing kills 50 at funeral in Sadr City – police Baghdad car bombing kills more than 50 at funeral in Sadr City – police
(35 minutes later)
The death toll from a bomb attack on Saturday in Baghdad's Shia stronghold of Sadr City has risen to 50, police and medics said. More than 50 people were killed in a triple bombing that targeted a tent filled with mourners in Baghdad's Shia Muslim stronghold of Sadr City on Saturday, police and medical sources said.
Police said a car bomb went off near a funeral tent filled with mourners, a suicide bomber driving a car then blew himself up, and a third explosion followed as police, ambulances and firefighters were gathering at the scene. Between 40 and 60 people were wounded in the attack, medics said. Police said a car bomb went off near the tent where a funeral was being held, a suicide bomber driving a car then blew himself up, and a third explosion followed as police, ambulances and firefighters were gathering at the scene. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, in which at least 100 others were wounded, medics said.
Earlier in the day, in Baiji, a town north of Baghdad, four suicide bombers stormed police headquarters in a dawn attack, killing six SWAT officers after a one-hour shootout, security sources said. A Reuters reporter said distraught survivors had attacked policemen and firefighters who tried to move them away from the scene. Puddles of blood surrounded the tent.
The bombers shot dead guards outside a compound 112 miles from Baghdad. One of the attackers was killed in ensuing fighting inside the base and the other three blew themselves up when army reinforcements arrived. Iraq's delicate sectarian balance has come under growing strain from the civil war in neighbouring Syria, where mainly Sunni Muslim rebels are fighting to overthrow a leader backed by Shia Iran. Both Sunnis and Shia have crossed into Syria from Iraq to fight on opposite sides of the conflict.
It was not clear who was behind the attack, but security forces and police are prime targets for Sunni Islamist militants who have been regaining momentum in their insurgency against Iraq's Shi'ite-led government. Al Qaeda's Iraqi and Syrian branches merged earlier this year to form the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which has claimed responsibility for attacks on both sides of the border. Around 800 Iraqis were killed in acts of violence in August, according to the United Nations.
Al Qaeda's Iraqi and Syrian branches merged earlier this year to form the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which has claimed responsibility for attacks on both sides of the border. Intensifying violence has raised concerns of a return to wider conflict in a country where Shi'ite Muslims, Sunnis and ethnic Kurds have yet to find a stable way of sharing power. Earlier in the day, in Baiji, a town north of Baghdad, four suicide bombers stormed police headquarters in a dawn attack, killing six SWAT officers after a one-hour shootout, security sources said. The bombers shot dead guards outside a compound 112 miles from Baghdad. One of the attackers was killed in ensuing fighting inside the base and the other three blew themselves up when army reinforcements arrived.
About 800 Iraqis were killed in acts of violence in August, according to the United Nations. It was not clear who was behind the attack.
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