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20 people killed as militants attack Shiite shrine in Baghdad — TV

An explosive device was set off first, and then an armed group of militants attacked the people who were there

© AP Photo/Hadi Mizban

CAIRO, July 8. /TASS/. At least 20 people have been killed and dozens injured in an explosion in Iraq, the Al Arabiya TV channel reported on Friday.

It has been reported that the attack occurred in the Balad settlement north of Baghdad. The explosion took place in a Shiite shrine. An explosive device was set off first, and then an armed group of militants attacked the people who were there.

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The attackers have been neutralized by the Iraqi security forces that took the situation under control, according to Arab TV channels.

Meanwhile, Al Arabiya reported that at least 20 people were killed and 50 others wounded on Thursday evening in an attack on a Shiite mausoleum north of Baghdad, security sources said. The site, the Mausoleum of Sayid Mohammed bin Ali al-Hadi, is located in Balad, about 93 kilometers (58 miles) north of Baghdad. A suicide car bomb blew up at the external gate of the mausoleum, allowing several gunmen to storm the site and start shooting at pilgrims on a visit on the occasion of the Eid al-Fitr festival the report says.

Overnight to July 3, a car bomb driven by a suicide bomber was detonated in the al-Qarrada district in downtown Baghdad. The area featuring lots of restaurants and shops was crowded with people on the eve of the Eid al-Fitr holiday. The explosion caused fire in a number of buildings. A total of 290 people were killed in the attack then.

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