Bombs Hit Iraq, Killing 14

A pair of bombs struck in quick succession outside a mosque north of Baghdad on Friday, killing at least 14 people and wounding more than 30.

The attacks in the town of Kanaan, about 75 kilometers (47 miles) northeast of the capital, are likely to increase fears of further violence ahead of provincial elections in much of the country scheduled for next week,according to ABC News

Friday’s blasts struck as worshippers were leaving after midday prayers from the town’s Omar Bin Abdul-Aziz mosque, said police officials in Diyala province, where Kanaan is located. A hospital official confirmed the casualty figures.

Violence in Iraq has fallen sharply from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but deadly attacks remain common a decade after the U.S.-led invasion.

The nearby city of Baqouba was the site of a large bombing just last week. In that incident, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a lunch hosted by a candidate in the upcoming provincial elections, killing 20 people.

Minutes after the Kanaan attack, a bomb exploded near a mosque in western Baghdad, wounding eight, according to police and hospital officials.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday’s attacks.

Al-Qaida’s Iraqi branch, known as the”Islamic State of Iraq”, frequently carries out coordinated bombings targeting civilian targets such as mosques, markets and restaurants.

It primarily targets  security forces and other officials tied to the government.

Iraqi officials believe al-Qaida is growing stronger in Iraq, fuelled in part by rising lawlessness on the Syria-Iraq frontier and what they say is cross-border cooperation with the Syrian militant group Jabhat al-Nusra.

M.D