BAGHDAD – In Iraq, at least 26 people have been killed and 50 others wounded in a suicide attack on a mausoleum north of Baghdad.
The Mausoleum of Sayid Mohammed bin Ali al-Hadi is located in Balad, about 93 kilometres north of the Iraqi capital.
Security officials said that a suicide car bomb blew up at the external gate of the mausoleum, allowing several gunmen to storm the site and start shooting at pilgrims.
The blast came after Sunday’s deadly twin blasts in Baghdad that killed 292 people while they were shopping for Eid – the Muslim festival marking the end of Ramazan.
The attack has been termed as the deadliest bombing in the war-torn country since US-led forces attacked the country to topple Saddam Hussein’s government 13 years ago.
The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the car bomb blast in the Karrada shopping area, but no group has yet claimed responsibility for the second attack on Sunday.
This is the latest series of terrorist attacks in Iraq since Iraqi forces regained the city of Falluja from Islamic State fighters after four weeks of intense battle.
