Suicide Bomber Kills Dozens at Baghdad Mosque [VIDEO]
A suicide bomber dressed as an injured beggar attacked one of the largest Sunni mosques in Baghdad on Sunday, claiming the lives of at least 24 people. A member of Parliament was among the dead.
An estimated 200 people were praying inside the Um al-Qura mosque when the bomber entered. Although security guards were posted, they didn’t stop the bomber because he pretended to be a beggar with an injured hand. When the man began wandering among the worshippers, the guards became suspicious and threw him out. Then, as the evening prayers ended, he snuck back inside and detonated his explosives.
“We thought that this man really deserved to be helped,” said the imam, Ahmed al-Samarai.
Khalid al-Fahdawi, the Iraqi lawmaker who died in the attack, had survived at least one previous assassination attempt by members of al Qaeda, an official said. Al-Fahdawi represented a mostly Sunni area that was once controlled by the militant group.
None of Iraq’s armed groups have claimed responsibility for the attack, which also injured at least three dozen others.
[Reuters]