(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) A suicide bomber attacked a Shiite shrine in Iraq Tuesday, killing 11 people, including some mourning seven who were shot dead earlier in the day, police and a doctor said.
The blast at the Abu Idris shrine in Baquba, northeast of Baghdad in the religiously and ethnically mixed province of Diyala, also wounded 19 people, the sources said.
The victims of the bombing included people who were mourning the deaths of seven Shiite shepherds who were gunned down northeast of Baquba earlier on Tuesday.
No one immediately claimed responsibility, but suicide bombings have been a favoured tactic of Sunni insurgents linked to al Qaeda and who are widely blamed for this year's surge in violence that has mostly targeted civilians.
Baquba has been hit by some of the deadliest attacks, and earlier this month a suicide bomber blew himself up at a funeral in a nearby town.
Iraq's Shi'ite-led government says the violence is being fuelled by the war in neighbouring Syria, which has stirred sectarian tensions across the Middle East.
According to the United Nations, more than 8,000 people have been killed in Iraq in the first 11 months of 2013, meaning that this year may end up being the bloodiest since Sunni-Shi'ite bloodshed peaked in 2006-07.
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The blast at the Abu Idris shrine in Baquba, northeast of Baghdad in the religiously and ethnically mixed province of Diyala, also wounded 19 people, the sources said.
The victims of the bombing included people who were mourning the deaths of seven Shiite shepherds who were gunned down northeast of Baquba earlier on Tuesday.
No one immediately claimed responsibility, but suicide bombings have been a favoured tactic of Sunni insurgents linked to al Qaeda and who are widely blamed for this year's surge in violence that has mostly targeted civilians.
Baquba has been hit by some of the deadliest attacks, and earlier this month a suicide bomber blew himself up at a funeral in a nearby town.
Iraq's Shi'ite-led government says the violence is being fuelled by the war in neighbouring Syria, which has stirred sectarian tensions across the Middle East.
According to the United Nations, more than 8,000 people have been killed in Iraq in the first 11 months of 2013, meaning that this year may end up being the bloodiest since Sunni-Shi'ite bloodshed peaked in 2006-07.
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