35 killed, 70 wounded in suicide bombings in central Iraq

The death toll from a suicide bombing attack at a Shiite shrine in Iraq's central province of Salahudin early on Friday rose to 35 and more than 70 others were wounded, a provincial security source said.

The attack began shortly after midnight when three suicide bombers wearing explosive belts and disguised in military uniforms crossed security checkpoints and entered near the mausoleum of Saiyd Mohammed in the town of Balad, some 80 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

One gunmen detonated his explosives belt at the marketplace outside the shrine and another at one of its gates, the source said, adding that two mortar rounds landed at the scene at the time of the blasts.

The third suicide bomber threw two hand grenades at a crowd of Shiite pilgrims before he blew up himself among them, the source added.

"A total of 35 people were killed and some 70 others wounded, some of them were in critical condition," the source said, citing a medical source from the nearby hospital in Balad...
 [Xinhua -china.org.cn]
8/7/16
--
-
Related:

•  ISIS extremists attacked a Shiite shrine north of Baghdad, killing 30 people, just days after one of the deadliest ever bombings in the country, a security spokesman said Friday...

--

• Baghdad bombing toll rises to 292: Health Ministry