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| Iraq funeral bomb kills 51 | Iraq funeral bomb kills 51 |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Fifty-one people have been killed at a funeral in the mainly Shia Sadr City district of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. | Fifty-one people have been killed at a funeral in the mainly Shia Sadr City district of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. |
| Police officials said the attack involved a suicide bomber who detonated a car bomb near a tent where mourners were gathered. | Police officials said the attack involved a suicide bomber who detonated a car bomb near a tent where mourners were gathered. |
| The officials said that women and children were among the dead and at least 70 people had been injured. | The officials said that women and children were among the dead and at least 70 people had been injured. |
| No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, which happened early on Saturday evening. | No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, which happened early on Saturday evening. |
| Medics in nearby hospitals confirmed the casualty figures. | Medics in nearby hospitals confirmed the casualty figures. |
| The bombing followed an attack earlier on Saturday, in which 11 people died during an assault on a police station in Baiji, north of Baghdad. | The bombing followed an attack earlier on Saturday, in which 11 people died during an assault on a police station in Baiji, north of Baghdad. |
| Surge in violence | |
| Sectarian violence has surged across Iraq in recent months, reaching its highest level since 2008. | |
| The violence was triggered in April by an army raid on a Sunni Muslim anti-government protest camp near Hawija, also north of Baghdad. | |
| The country has also seen a spill-over of violence from the conflict in Syria, which has taken on increasingly sectarian overtones. | |
| In recent weeks, Iraqi security forces have reportedly arrested hundreds of alleged al-Qaeda members in and around Baghdad as part of a campaign which the Shia-led government is calling "Revenge for the martyrs". | |
| But the operations, which have taken place mostly in Sunni districts, have angered the Sunni community and failed to halt the violence. | |
| More than 5,000 people have died so far this year in Iraq, 800 of them in August alone, according to the United Nations. |