16 killed, 15 hurt in Iraq mosque attack

At least 16 people were killed and 15 wounded in two explosions at a Sunni mosque in Iraq on Friday, police said.

The two bombs exploded in the Musab bin Omair Mosque near the city of Samarra, 120 km north of the capital Baghdad, a police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The blasts damaged the mosque and nearby buildings, he said, adding that security forces cordoned off the area to prevent more attacks.

Iraq is witnessing its worst eruption of violence in recent years which raises concerns that the country is sliding back to the full blown civil conflict that peaked in 2006 and 2007, when the monthly death toll sometimes exceeded 3,000.