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Car blast near Iraq mosque kills 16

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A parked car bomb exploded Tuesday near a prominent Shiite mosque in a southern Iraqi city, killing 16 civilians and wounding at least 64 others, authorities said.
The strike, along with a suicide attack targeting police in Diyala province and a roadside bombing in Baghdad, killed 24 people across the country Tuesday.
The car bombing occurred in Kufa, just northeast of Najaf in a region populated predominantly by Shiite Arabs. The bomb exploded near restaurants in the city's al-Shahristani Square.
A spokesman for the mayor's office said the blast detonated about half a mile from the Kufa Mosque and occurred near restaurants that cater to Shiite pilgrims, who customarily stop there on the way to the Shiite holy city of Najaf. Kufa is about 95 miles (150 kilometers) south of Baghdad.
The roadside bomb exploded near a minibus in southeastern Baghdad's Zafaraniya neighborhood about 8:30 a.m., killing three people and wounding five others, police said.
In the Diyala province town of Jalawla, 35 miles (56 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad, a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest under a police uniform detonated inside a police station during morning roll call, killing five police officers, Baquba police officials said. Fifteen other people were wounded.
Other developments
The U.S. military said 13 "suspected terrorists" were detained Monday and Tuesday in raids "targeting al Qaeda, foreign fighter facilitators" and a network that made chemical car bombs. The raids took place in Baghdad, southwest of Tal Afar in Nineveh province, and northeast of Karma in Anbar province.
Iraq's Interior Ministry reported that 30 bodies were found Monday in Baghdad, bringing the seven-day total to 153.
On Monday, suicide car bombings at a market and at a police checkpoint in Ramadi in Anbar province killed 13 people and wounded 35 others, police said. Authorities initially reported a higher number of casualties but later said the tally was incorrect.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq, Jomana Karadsheh and Basim Mahdi contributed to this report.

posted by mhai @ 9:28 AM