Baghdad mosque: Suicide blast toll rises to 10
The death toll in a Baghdad suicide bombing at a mosque during Friday prayers has risen to 10.
The attacker was wearing an explosives belt and blew himself up at the Buratha mosque in northern Baghdad, police Lt. Thaer Mahmoud said.
Jalal Eddin al-Sagheer, preacher at the mosque and one of the country's leading politicians, said the explosives were inside a worshipper’s shoes.
He said guards first arrested a suspected attacker after discovering explosives as they were searching shoes left outside the mosque. The bomber blew himself up when confronted by the guards as they began searching worshippers with shoes beside them inside the mosque, al-Sagheer said.
The streets of Baghdad were largely empty of cars due to a four-hour driving ban implemented to prevent violence during traditional Islamic prayers held every Friday.
Iraqi authorities launched a massive security operation on Wednesday with 75,000 troops deploying on the streets of Baghdad, an extended curfew – from 8.30pm until dawn – and a weapons ban.
The Buratha mosque was attacked during Friday prayers on April 7, when four suicide bombers set off their explosives, killing at least 85 worshippers as they left the mosque after the main weekly religious service.
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