At least 9 dead in blasts at Baghdad Shiite mosque: police

At least nine people were killed on Thursday in a double suicide bombing targeting a mosque frequented by Shiite worshippers in the northwest of the Iraqi capital, police said.

“Two suicide bombers wearing explosive belts blew themselves up in front of the Rasul al-Azam (mosque) in the Shuala district” of Baghdad, a police official said, adding that more than 20 people were wounded in the blasts.

“The first suicide bomber blew himself up among the worshippers as they left” the mosque, he said.

“The second explosion targeted police forces who had arrived to treat the wounded,” causing more fatalities, he said.

Medical sources confirmed the death toll.

The blasts in the predominantly Shiite neighbourhood came on the eve of a planned protest that radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has called for in Baghdad and said he would personally attend.

Sadr has called on his supporters to attend protests in the capital as well as other cities to demand an end to corruption and improved public services.

Tens of thousands of his supporters are expected to take part.