Explosion in Iraq’s southern Basra targets mosque, no casualties

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Unknown gunmen on Friday night detonated an explosive device in front of a Sunni mosque in the southern suburb of Basra, the southernmost city of Iraq, with no casualties reported.

The explosion took place in the town of Zubayr, once the center of sectarian violence that swept through large parts of Iraq between 2006 and 2008.

The explosive device detonated in front of the Khalid bin Walid mosque, located in the center of Zubayr, an eyewitness told Kurdistan 24 on Saturday.

“The explosion did not cause any human casualties,” Basra-based al-Marbad radio quoted the head of the security committee in the town, Mahdi Rikan, as saying.

Photos posted on Iraqi social media networks show the blast had damaged the front part of the mosque and its gate.

No groups have claimed responsibility for the attack in the town, which is home to a predominantly Sunni Muslim population in the heartland of the Shia province.

The blast “sends messages that have negative repercussions on the security of Zubayr and Basra in general.”

Over the past few months, Basra has experienced ongoing protests due to lack of public services, high unemployment, and widespread corruption in government institutions.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany