Bombs strike mosques in Iraq; 9 people dead

The explosions hit the mosques despite a four-hour driving ban in the capital aimed at preventing such attacks.

Bombs and a mortar round struck four Sunni mosques in Baghdad and northeast of the capital on Friday, killing at least nine people and wounding eight, authorities said.

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The mortar round landed in front of the al-Nidaa Sunni mosque in northern Baghdad about 2 pm, killing five people, including a policeman, and wounding two worshippers, the army said.

A car bomb also exploded about 10 minutes later as worshippers were leaving a Sunni mosque in western Baghdad, killing three people, a woman and two children, police Lt Maitham Abdul-Razzaq said.

A bomb targeting the al-Furqan Sunni mosque in northeastern Baghdad wounded a passer-by, Sgt Mohammed Nour said.

Northeast of Baghdad, a roadside bomb struck worshippers leaving the Ahmed bin Hanbal Sunni mosque in Baqouba, killing one person and wounding five others, according to police.

The explosions hit the mosques despite a four-hour driving ban in the capital aimed at preventing such attacks that often target the main weekly Islamic religious service.

The 11 am-3 pm driving ban has been imposed weekly amid a rise in ethnic and sectarian violence.