Attacks on Shias in Baghdad and north of the capital killed four people on Friday, after the conclusion of the Eid festival and as al Qaeda claimed a series of attacks earlier in the summer. In the deadliest attack, two explosions struck the predominantly Shia neighbourhood of Sadr City in north Baghdad at around 12:30 pm (0930 GMT) as worshippers were gathering for prayers on the Muslim day of rest.
Three people were killed and at least eight were wounded, according to medics at nearby hospitals and an interior ministry official. A police officer at the scene of the blasts said they were caused by mortar fire. All spoke on condition of anonymity. Among the wounded was Nasser al-Saadi, an official in the movement loyal to anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the medics said. Another person was killed and three others wounded by a roadside bomb targeting the home of a Shia family in the town of Khan Beni Saad, 30 kilometres (18 miles) north of Baghdad, a police colonel and a medic at the main hospital in provincial capital Baquba said.