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Update: Death toll mounts to 34 in Iraq's suicide bombing

Xinhua, March 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

The death toll from Monday's suicide bombing attack at a funeral in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala rose to 34, a provincial security source said.

The deceased include seven Shiite militia leaders, said the source.

"The latest report concerning the casualties from Monday's suicide bombing attack near Maqdadiyah rose to 34 deaths and 43 wounded," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest at a funeral tent in the Shiite village of Brishtah, 100 km northeast of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, said the source.

Apparently, the attacker's targets were Shiite militiamen affiliated to paramilitary units known as Hashd Shaabi, or popular mobilization, at the funeral, the source said.

He confirmed the death of seven leading figures from the Shiite militia, including Ali Hamad al-Temimi, Diyala's provincial leader from the powerful Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq militia, or League of the Righteous.

The League of the Righteous group is believed to be divorced from the radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi's Army.

The League of the Righteous group was allegedly funded, trained and armed by Iran's Quds Force during the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

Following the fallback of U.S. troops in 2011, the group allied with the Shiite-led government in Baghdad.

The massive blast caused extensive damage to the area, destroying several nearby buildings and civilian cars, the source said.

He stated that provincial security authorities imposed a curfew and intensified security measures in numerous villages and towns in the area, including Maqdadiyah, to prevent potential retaliatory attacks.

Diyala's provincial governor, Muthanna al-Temimi, declared a three day mourning period in the province and ordered a probe into the incident to determine those responsible for the attack.

The volatile town of Maqdadiyah witnessed escalating sectarian tension particularly following January 11, when substantial explosions which were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) militant group targeted a coffee shop in town which Shiite residents frequent.

This led Shiite militiamen to retaliate by bombing and burning several Sunni mosques, in addition to tens of shops owned by Sunnis in town, along with executing dozens of Sunni residents.

IS frequently targets crowded areas, including markets, cafes and mosques throughout Iraq.

Iraq is currently undergoing a wave of violence since IS took over areas of Iraq's northern and western regions in June 2014.

A United Nations report estimated that over 22,300 people were either killed or injured in Iraq's armed conflict in 2015. Enditem