Holiday Blasts Kill 19 Iraqis Near Shia Sites

Suicide bombers targeted Shia worshipers as they left morning prayers today at two Baghdad mosques, killing 19 people and injuring 50, police say. In a separate attack, gunmen fatally shot six people as they traveled in a minibus 60 miles north of Baghdad. Attacks on Shia civilians are widely associated with Sunni extremists hoping to reignite sectarian conflict.

The bombings in Baghdad occurred as worshipers celebrated the holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. In the deadliest attack, a suicide car bomber in a white Mercedes sedan detonated his explosives 20 yards from a mosque in southeastern Baghdad after being stopped by Iraqi soldiers. He killed 14 and injured 28.
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