2 Iraq mosques hit; terrorists slay 11 in attack on soldiers

BAGHDAD: At least two Sunni mosques have been attacked in Iraq and two people killed, officials and police said on Monday.
Iraq’s Interior Ministry confirmed the attacks on Sunni mosques late Sunday in Hilla, around 100 km south of Baghdad. Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi blamed them on “Daesh and those who are similar to them,” without further explanation.
He ordered provincial authorities “to chase the criminal gangs” who attacked the mosques.
Iraq has faced sectarian bloodletting for years, mainly between minority Sunnis and a Shiite majority empowered after the US-led invasion in 2003.
The attack on a mosque in central Hilla destroyed its dome and several walls, according to a Reuters TV cameraman who visited the site. Provincial council member Falah Al-Khafaji and a police source said a guard in the building was killed.
“We saw smoke rising from the dome of the mosque. We found all the walls destroyed and the furniture inside in shambles,” said resident Uday Hassan Ali.
Another mosque in Hilla’s northern outskirts was also attacked and a Sunni cleric was killed in a separate incident in Iskandariya, about 40 km south of Baghdad, Khafaji and the police source said.
“We have leads and security measures will be taken near mosques,” said Khafaji, pledging to rebuild the buildings.
Meanwhile, Daesh militants attacked Iraqi troops and allied tribal fighters outside the western town of Haditha on Monday, killing at least 11 and wounding dozens, officials said.
Haditha councilman Khalid Suleiman said 30 troops were wounded in the attacks, which included a suicide car bombing and roadside bombs. A medical official in Haditha confirmed the casualty figures on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to release information.
The attack comes a week after Iraqi troops backed by US-led airstrikes and Sunni tribesmen pushed Daesh out of central Ramadi, capital of the sprawling Anbar province, which also includes Haditha.
Pockets of Daesh fighters remain to the east and north of the city and have launched daily counterattacks against Iraqi military positions, mostly using suicide car bombs.
Col. Steve Warren, the Baghdad-based spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, said most attacks were repelled with a combination of air support and the heavier weaponry Iraqi forces are now equipped with.