Iraq: 14 including Shia militia leader killed in suicide attack on funeral

A suicide bomb attack at a funeral north of Baghdad has killed 14 and wounded 45 including a senior militia leader in the Shia Asaib Ahl al-Haq brigade.

Security officials told AP the blast occurred about 60 miles (90 kilometers) north of Iraqi capital in the town of Muqdadiyah, where security is predominantly provided by militias. The predominantly Shia armed groups have been sanctioned by the government of Haider Al-Abadi following the rise of Islamic State in Iraq.

The deadly attack follows the slaying of scores in the Iraqi capital yesterday (28 February) in the worst Islamic State violence seen in Iraq since the start of 2016.

The death toll following a catastrophic double suicide bombing at a Shia market in Sadr City by Islamic State (Isis) has climbed to 73 with as many as 112 wounded. AP reported that many of the critically wounded in the 28.

Iraqi officials said five individuals remained missing in the aftermath of the twin blasts in Mredi market in Sadr City, a majority Shia area. Isis claimed responsibility for the slayings in Baghdad, as well as an attack on Abu Ghraib in which 13 members of the Iraqi security forces were killed.

Powerful Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who on 26 February led hundreds of thousands of supporters in anti-government marches, called on armed brigades under his control to be ready to protect the Iraqi capital.

Al-Sadr, who rose to prominence during the US war in Iraq, has capitalised on Shia fears over the expansion of IS, a Sunni extremist group, in Iraq and neighbouring Syria. His Saraya al-Salam brigade were established following the IS capture of Mosul in 2014.

On Thursday (25 February) at least 15 people were killed in twin suicide bomb attacks, claimed by Isis, on a Shia mosque in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Reuters reported another 50 people were injured in the explosions, citing police and medical sources. The attack was carried out in Baghdad's Shulaa district, a predominantly Shia area of the city.