The incidents are the latest in a series that have targeted Shiites, raising concerns that insurgents are stepping up attacks, hoping to re-ignite sectarian violence that nearly tore the country apart in 2006 and 2007.Though violence has dramatically declined in Iraq in the past two years, US officials have repeatedly called the security gains fragile and cautioned that a waning insurgency still has the ability to pull off sporadic, high profile attacks. The most deadly blast occurred in Rasheediyah, a village north of Mosul, where a parked car bomb exploded near a Shiite mosque, killing at least 10 worshippers leaving Friday prayers, said a police official in Ninevah operations command.
The official said dozens more were injured in the blast. In Baghdad, roadside bombs targeted Shiite pilgrims returning from the southern holy city of Karbala. The first of three bombs exploded at about 9:10 a.m., targeting a minibus with pilgrims as it entered the Shiite slum of Sadr City, a police official said. The blast killed four pilgrims and wounded eight others, the official said. The causalities were confirmed by a medical official.
A short time later, two near simultaneous explosions near the Shaab football stadium in eastern Baghdad killed three pilgrims as they were walking home to Sadr City, said another police official. Thirteen pilgrims also were wounded in the two blasts, which occurred less than half a mile apart, the official said.
