Islamic State suicide bomb attack kills 9 at Baghdad mosqueApril 22, 2016 - 17:22 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A suicide bomb attack claimed by Islamic State killed at least nine people following Friday prayers at a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in southwestern Baghdad, police and hospital sources said, according to Reuters. A second suicide attacker at the mosque in al-Radwaniya district was shot and killed by security forces before he could set off his explosives, the police sources said. A separate bomb went off in the district of Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, killing two and wounding nine, security and medical sources said. Islamic State was behind the larger attack, which also wounded at least 25 others, according to Amaq news agency, which supports the group. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the second blast. The rise of the ultra-hardline Sunni Muslim group, which is battling government forces over control of vast territory in northern and western Iraq, has exacerbated a long-running sectarian conflict, mostly between Shi'ites and Sunnis, that emerged after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The Iraqi government has retaken several major cities from Islamic State in the past year and slowly pushed the militants back toward the Syrian border. The authorities have said they want to recapture the northern city of Mosul this year, but Iraqi officials privately question whether that is possible. Photo: AFP Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |