Twin suicide bombings killed 31 people after midday prayers at a Shia religious centre in Baghdad on Tuesday, the latest in violence sparking fears of a revival of full-blown sectarian bloodshed. Several students from an adjacent university were among the dead, with dozens of others wounded, while security forces shut down the neighbourhood to traffic and sought to defuse a suspected car bomb nearby.
Tuesday's attacks struck at the Habib ibn al-Mudhaher husseiniyah, or Shia Muslim religious hall, in north Baghdad. It lies next to the Imam al-Sadiq university, a private teaching institution. Many victims were university students who were taking a break from studying for their exams to pray.
According to witnesses and officials, the bombers, who were dressed in suits, began by gunning down the building's guard, followed by the first attacker blowing himself up at the entrance to the hall. The second militant took advantage of the ensuing chaos and ran through the crowd before setting off his explosives inside the husseiniyah itself.
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