Dozens killed in suicide attack on Baghdad mosque

AFP - A suicide bomber killed 28 people including a member of parliament and wounded 37 others at a Sunni mosque in western Baghdad on Sunday evening, an interior ministry official said

"A suicide bomber entered Umm al-Qura mosque and blew himself up, killing 28 people and wounding 37," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Among the dead were Khaled al-Fahdawi, an MP from western Anbar province allied with the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc, he said. Elderly men and children were also among the casualties.

The Umm al-Qura mosque, located in the Ghazaliyah neighbourhood, is the main headquarters of the Sunni Endowment, which is responsible for maintaining Sunni Muslim religious sites across Baghdad.

The head of the Umm al-Qura mosque is Ahmed Abdulghafur al-Samarrai, who is reputed for his sermons against violent extremism.

Sunday's attack came towards the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, just days before the Eid festival that follows it.