| Attacks Kill 26 During Iraq's Eid al-Fitr Celebrations |
By VOA News
02 October 2008
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 | | Jalil Ibrahim, 18, is helped by a medic in a hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, 02 Oct 2008 |
Iraqi security officials say three separate attacks in central Iraq have killed 26 people.
Police said two bombings Thursday near Shi'ite mosques in Baghdad killed at least 20 people and wounded at least 50 others.
Officials say a car bomber attacked a mosque in the Zafaraniyah district, while a teenaged suicide bomber struck at a mosque in another part of Baghdad. The attacks took place as worshipers celebrated the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month Ramadan.
Al-Qaida in Iraq militants have often attacked Shi'ite Iraqis, inflaming sectarian violence that in recent years threatened to tear the country apart.
In Diyala province, security officials say six people were killed when gunmen opened fire on a minibus. Officials say women and children were among the victims.
In a separate development, the U.S. military in Iraq says coalition forces captured six suspected terrorists in operations in Mosul and Baghdad.
Although Iraq has seen a recent spike in attacks, officials say the level of violence is at a four-year low.
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