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More than 60 killed in Iraq funeral bombing | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
At least 60 people have been killed at a funeral in the mainly Shia Muslim Sadr City district of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. | |
A tent where mourners were gathered was hit by two explosions, one of them a suicide car bomb. | |
A third explosion followed as police, ambulances and firefighters gathered at the scene, according to one report. | A third explosion followed as police, ambulances and firefighters gathered at the scene, according to one report. |
Officials reported that women and children were among the dead and that more than 120 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. |
The explosions reportedly set the tents and nearby cars on fire, with eyewitnesses describing the scene as an "inferno". | |
"I saw several charred bodies on the ground and tents on fire and also burning cars. Wounded people were screaming in pain,'' says one of the mourners, Sheikh Sattar al-Fartousi. | |
Medics in nearby hospitals confirmed the scale of the casualties. | Medics in nearby hospitals confirmed the scale of the casualties. |
Also on Saturday, eight people were killed in a separate bomb attack in a street in the nearby neighbourhood of Ur. | |
And at least five police officers were killed in an assault on a police station in Baiji, north of Baghdad. | |
Surge in violence | Surge in violence |
Sectarian violence has surged across Iraq in recent months, reaching its highest level since 2008. | 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 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. | 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". | 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. | 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. | More than 5,000 people have died so far this year in Iraq, 800 of them in August alone, according to the United Nations. |